REPORT 


State  Water  Problems 
Conference 


QT  Acting  under  instructions  of  the  California  Legislature 
^  to  recommend  "a  unified  state  policy  with  reference  to 
irrigation,  reclamation,  water  storage,  flood  control, 
municipalities  and  drainage,  with  due  regard  to  the  needs 
of  water  power,  mining  and  navigation." 


NOVEMBER  25,  1916 


26991 


CALIFORNIA   STATK   rUINTl.NC   Ol'TK'i: 

SACRAMENTO 

1916 


, 


i  '- 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER                                         TITLE                                                                     SECTION  PAGE 

I     Organization  and  Work  of  Conference 1  7 

II     Findings  and  Recommendations  of  Conference 15  12 

III  Consolidation    of    Commissions 50  Ii3 

IV  The  Conservation  and  Use  of  Water__                                            64  28 

V     The  Flood  Problems  of  California 119  43 

VI     Riparian    Rights    152  51 

VII     Irrigation     173  57 

VIII     Underground  Water 193  64 

IX     Reclamation    201  67 

X     Inland   Waterways    221  74 

XI     Relation  Between  Navigation  and  Irrigation 239  78 

XII     Storage  for  Flood  Control 258  85 

XIII  Interstate  Waters 284  93 

XIV  Water  for  Mining__ 297  96 

XV     Water   for  Municipal   Purposes 307  98 

XVI     Expense  and  Delay  in  Water  Litigation 311  99 

XVII     State  Aid  in  Interest  of  Conservation 318  102 

XVIII     Minority    Reports 334  106 

Appendix  "A" — The  Economic  Value  of  Inland  Waterways  to  California  352  110 

Appendix   "B"— List  of  Bills   Submitted  for  Legislative   Consideration..  381  117 

Appendix  "C" — List  of  Documents  and  Authorities  Considered  by  Con- 
ference                                                                      _  382  119 


374243 


STATE  WATER  PROBLEMS  CONFERENCE. 


SACRAMENTO,  CALIFORNIA,  November  25,  1916. 
Honorable  HIRAM  W.  JOHNSON, 
Governor  of  California. 

There  is  transmitted  to  you  herewith  the  findings,  recommendations 
and  suggestions  as  to  legislation,  of  the  State  Water  Problems  Con- 
ference, created  by  act  of  the  legislature  approved  May  18,  1915,  which 
act  is  as  follows: 

CHAPTER  359. 

An  act  providing  for  the  calling  by  the  governor  of  a  conference  on 
irrigation,  reclamation,  water  storage,  flood  control,  and  drainage, 
and  making  an  appropriation  to  pay  the  expenses  thereof. 

[Approved  May  18,  1915.] 

T.he  people  of  the  State  of  California  do  enact  as  follows: 

SECTION  1.  For  the  purpose  of  considering  and  recommending  a 
unified  state  policy  with  reference  to  irrigation,  reclamation,  water 
storage,  flood  control,  municipalities,  and  drainage,  with  due  regard  to 
the  needs  of  water  power,  mining,  and  navigation,  the  governor  of  the 
state  is  hereby  empowered  to  call  a  conference  of  properly  qualified 
persons,  consisting  of  the  lieutenant  governor,  who  shall  be  chairman 
thereof,  the  speaker  of  the  assembly  and  the  chairman  of  each  of  the 
committees  of  the  senate  and  assembly  of  the  forty-first  session  of  the 
state  legislature  on  irrigation  and  on  drainage,  swamp,  and  overflowed 
lands,  the  state  engineer,  the  chairman  of  the  state  water  commission, 
the  chairman  of  the  state  reclamation  board,  the  chairman  of  the  state 
conservation  commission,  the  secretary  of  agriculture,  and  six  others  to 
be  appointed  by  the  governor.  Such  conference  shall  first  meet  at  the 
call  of  the  governor,  and  shall  meet  thereafter  during  the  years  1915 
and  1916  at  such  times  as  the  chairman  shall  determine.  Not  later 
than  November  30,  1916,  the  conference  shall  report  its  findings  and 
conclusions  to  the  governor,  together  with  any  recommendations  it  deems 
desirable  to  make  regarding  legislation ;  and  with  the  filing  of  its  report 
with  the  governor  as  aforesaid  its  existence  shall  cease  and  determine. 

SEC.  2.  No  member  of  the  conference  provided  for  in  this  act  shall 
receive  any  compensation  for  any  work  performed  in  connection  there- 
with other  than  as  already  allowed  by  law;  but  each  member  of  such 
conference  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  his  actual  and  necessary  traveling 
expenses  incident  to  attendance  at  regularly  called  meetings  of  the  con- 
ference or  committees  thereof;  provided,  that  the  traveling  expenses  of 
the  members  of  the  conference  who  become  such  members  by  reason  of 
being  members  of  a  state  department,  board  or  commission  shall  be  paid 


OF    CONFERENCE 


out  of  the  funds  appropriated  by  law  for  such  department,  board,  or 
commission.  The  chairman  of  the  conference  is  hereby  authorized  to 
employ  such  assistants  as  he  may  deem  to  be  requisite  to  perform  the 
clerical  work  made  necessary  by  the  proper  performance  of  the  duties 
of  the  conference. 

SEC.  3.  Out  of  any  moneys  in  the  state  treasury  not  otherwise 
appropriated  there  is  hereby  appropriated  the  sum  of  twenty-five  hun- 
dred dollars  to  be  expended  in  accordance  with  law  in  defraying  the 
expenses  herein  authorized. 


STATK    WATER    PROBLEMS.  7 

CHAPTER  I. 

Organization  and  Work  of  Conference. 

1.  The  State  Water  Problems  Conference  organized  under  this  name, 
and  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  act  creating  it,  at  the  rooms 
of  the  State  Railroad  Commission,   San  Francisco,  on  September  18, 
1915,  Hon.  John  M.  Eshleman,  Lieutenant  Governor,  acting  as  chair- 
man, as  called  for  by  the  act,  and  W.  H.  Killam  being  appointed 
secretary. 

2.  The  personnel  of  the  conference  as  provided  for  in  the  act  and 
by  appointment  of  the  Governor,  was  as  follows: 

John   M.    Eshleman Lieutenant   Governor 

C.  C.  Young Speaker  of  the  Assembly 

L.  .T.  Maddux Chairman,  Senate  Committee  on  Irrigation 

W.  F.  Chandler 

Chairman,  Senate  Committee  on  Drainage,  Swamp  and  Overflowed  Lands 
L.  L.  Dennett Chairman,  Assembly  Committee  on  Irrigation 

E.  L.  Sisson 

Chairman,  Assembly  Committee  on  Drainage,  Swamp  and  Overflowed 
Lands 

W.  F.  McClure State  Engineer 

W.  A.  Johnstone Chairman,  State  Water  Commission 

V.  S.  McClatchy President,  State  Reclamation  Board 

J.  P.  Baumgartner Chairman,  State  Conservation  Commission 

R.   J.   Anderson Redding 

W.  P.  Boone Berkeley 

Chas.  L.  Donohoe - Willows 

L.  J.  Edwards Stockton 

J.  B.  Olcese Merced 

F.  E.  Woodley Los  Angeles 

3.  Because   of   ill   health   and   absence   from   the   state,   Lieutenant 
Governor  Eshleman  attended  only  two  preliminary  meetings  of  the 
conference,  V.  S.  McClatchy  serving  thereafter  as  chairman  pro  tern. 
The  subsequent  death  of  Mr.  Eshleman  deprived  the  conference  even 
of  his  advice  and  counsel — a  loss  severely  felt,  for  his  experience  in 
public  life  and  with  state  institutions,  his  familiarity  with  physical 
conditions  and  state  problems,  his  knowledge  of  the  law,  his  balanced 
judgment  and  his  untiring  energy  specially  qualified  him  to  direct  the 
responsible  work  of  the  conference. 

4.  It  was  soon  evident  to  the  conference  that  there  had  been  com- 
mitted to  it  a  task  whose  magnitude  was  perhaps  not  fully  realized  by 
the  legislature,  for  the  means  and  facilities  contemplated  by  the  act 
were  entirely  inadequate  to  proper  performance  of  the  task.     Consid- 
eration of  the  report  will  furnish  ample  confirmation  of  this  statement. 


REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

5.  The  act  directs  that  the  conference  recommend  a  unified  policy 
with  reference  to  irrigation,  reclamation,  water  storage,  flood  control, 
municipalities  and  drainage,  with  due  regard  to  the  needs  of  water 
power,  mining  and  navigation. 

6.  A  preliminary  survey  of  the  field  disclosed  the  fact  that  the  water 
problems  of  California,  concerning  which  the  conference  is  asked  to 
formulate  a  unified  policy,  are  greater  in  number  and  greater  in  magni- 
tude than  are  found  in  any  other  state  in  the  Union;  that  they  are  in 
many  cases  entirely  unsolved,  and  their  solution  complicated  by  the 
absence  of  a  state  policy  and  the  growth  in  consequence  of  independent 
rights  and  antagonistic  interests  under  haphazard  legislation. 

7.  Under  the  terms  of  the  act  ten  of  the  sixteen  contemplated  as 
members  of  the  conference  are  ex  officio  state  officers  and  the  remaining 
six  are  citizens  in  private  life  appointed  by  the  Governor ;  no  compen- 
sation is  allowed  any  member  for  services;   of  those  who  have  been 
active  in  the  work  of  the  conference  only  one  receives  a  salary  from  the 
state;  the  various  members — all  busy  men  of  affairs — reside  in  various 
portions  of  the  state  from  Redding  to  Los  Angeles,  necessitating  loss  of 
time  in  attending  meetings  at  San  Francisco;  and  the  appropriation 
provided  in  the  act,  $2,500,  would  defray  traveling  and  other  expenses 
for  only  a  limited  number  of  meetings. 

8.  Under  the  circumstances,  and  with  full  realization  of  the  gravity 
of  the  duty  imposed  upon  it,  the  conference  endeavored  to  so  organize 
and  adjust  its  work  as  to  secure  results,  which,  while  by  no  means  com- 
plete, are,  it  believes,  of  real  value  as  a  basis  for  the  unified  policy  which 
is  the  aim  of  the  act.    This  could  only  be  done  by  personal  sacrifices  on 
the  part  of  members,  an  earnest  spirit  of  cooperation,  and  an  endeavor 
to  consider  all  problems  from  the  state's  point  of  view.     In  securing 
such  results  as  are  shown  in  this  report,  the  conference  has  been  mate- 
rially assisted  by  aid  received  from  the  state  administration  in  supple- 
menting its  appropriation;  by  work  of  the  Legislative  Counsel  Bureau 
in  preparation  of  the  necessary  bills  for  consideration  of  the  legislature ; 
and  by  information  freely  extended  by  public  officials,  by  public  service 
corporations,  by  members  of  the  engineering  profession  and  by  private 
citizens. 

9.  The  plan  followed  by  the  conference  in  its  work  has  been  as  follows : 

(a)  In  order  to  secure  as  much  reliable  data  and  as  many  view- 
points on  the  various  problems  under  consideration  as  possible, 
public  hearings  were  held  at  which  representatives  of  all  interests, 
public  or  private,  concerned  in  the  ownership,  use  and  control  of 
water,  were  invited  to  be  present  and  offer  their  views  as  to  the 
proper  state  policy  and  legislation  in  connection  therewith.  In 
addition,  experts  in  various  lines  were  asked  to  read  papers  before 


STATE   WATER    PROBLEMS.  9 

the  conference  on  subjects  of  which  they  had  most  knowledge.    Open 
discussion  followed. 

(&)  The  twelve  members  of  the  conference  who  were  able  to  be 
active  in  the  work  were  divided  into  five  subcommittees,  and  to  each 
was  assigned  a  list  of  topics  which  were  to  be  investigated  by  it  and 
reported  on.  The  papers  read  before  the  conference  and  the  data 
received  by  it  were  apportioned  among  these  committees  according 
to  the  subjects  of  which  they  treated,  to  be  digested  and  utilized 
according  to  value,  in  the  subcommittee  reports. 

(c)  These  subcommittee  reports  were  considered  by  the  full  con- 
ference, until  an  agreement  could  be  reached  as  to  principles  which 
the  conference  was  prepared  to  adopt  and  policies  which  it  would 
recommend.     In  some  cases  further  investigation  of  a  particular 
topic  by  the  original  committee,  or  by  a  special  committee,  was 
ordered. 

(d)  With  the  main  facts  before  it  and  an  agreement  on  policies 
reached,  the  conference  named  a  legislative  committee  of  five  and 
placed  in  its  hands  the  formulation  of  the  report. 

(e)  Under  direction  of  the  legislative  committee  the  various  chap- 
ters of  the  report  were  prepared  by  the  chairman  pro  tern,  of  the 
conference,  or  by  the  chairman  of  the  committee,  transmitted  to 
members  of  the  committee  by  mail,  and  afterwards  modified  and 
amended  in  meeting  of  the  committee. 

(f)  The  chapters  of  the  report,  in  the  form  approved  by  the 
legislative  committee,  were  mailed  to  members  of  the  conference, 
and,  at  meetings  of  the  conference,  further  discussed  and  amended, 
and  finally  approved  and  adopted. 

(g)  The  bills  for  presentation  to  the  legislature,  intended  to  carry 
into  effect  the  policies  recommended  by  the  conference,  were  pre- 
pared by  the  Legislative  Counsel  Bureau,  under  direction  of  the 
Legislative  Committee. 

10.  Under  the  plan  thus  indicated,  it  has  been  possible  to  accomplish 
much  study  and  work  through  the  industry  of  individual  members  at 
home,  and  through  the  meetings  of  the  various  subcommittees.     In  no 
other  way  could  a  report  of  any  value  have  been  offered  at  this  time, 
with  the  limited  appropriation  provided  by  the  act. 

11.  The  conference  itself  has  held  meetings  of  one  or  two-day  sessions 
as  follows:  September  18,  1915;  October  27,  28;  November  29,  30;  Jan- 
uary 21,  22,  1916;  March  23,  24;  May  11;  May  31,  June  1;  July  28,  29; 
November  3;  November  15,  16.     The  transcript  of  minutes  of  these 
meetings  is  submitted  with  this  report,  as  are  also  copies  of  all  papers 
offered  to  the  conference  and  various  documents  considered  by  the  sub- 
committees. 

12.  The  five  subcommittees  into  whose  hands  was  committed  the  task 
of  sifting  the  data  collected  by  the  conference  and  reporting  digested 


10  REPORT   OF    CONFERENCE 

statements  thereof  and  suggestions  as  to  conclusions  warranted  thereby, 
and  the  topics  originally  assigned  to  each  are  as  follows : 

Riparian  rights.  L.  L.  Dennett,  Modesto,  Chairman ;  L.  J. 
Edwards,  Stockton,  Secretary;  W.  P.  Boone,  Berkeley. 

Topics :  Present  attitude  State  Supreme  Court. 

Force  and  validity  ten-year  clause  Water  Commission  Act. 

Hawson  bill  which  failed  at  last  session. 

Can  individual  riparian  rights  be  definitely  determined  and 
reserved  and  balance  of  rights  on  stream  opened  to  beneficial 
use? 

Would  riparian  owners  in  general  favor  or  oppose  such  policy  if 
feasible  ? 

Should  the  burden  of  proof  as  to  beneficial  use  be  placed  upon  the 
appropriator  or  upon  the  riparian  owner? 

Is  it  feasible  to  condemn  for  general  use  riparian  rights  not  bene- 
ficially used? 

In  what  way  can  the  obstacles  offered  by  present  riparian  rights 
to  development  be  overcome? 

Irrigation  committee.  W.  P.  Boone,  Berkeley,  Chairman; 
Roscoe  J.  Anderson,  Redding,  Secretary;  L.  L.  Dennett,  Modesto. 

Topics  :   Standardization  of  irrigation  districts  and  district  laws. 
Duty  and  use  of  water. 

How  may  waste  and  injury  therefrom  be  prevented? 
Should  water  be  sold  by  acre  feet  instead  of  second  feet? 
Should  there  be  state  control  of  distribution  through  water  masters 

or  policing  system? 

Should  districts  control  lateral  ditches? 
Secondary  use  of  water  after  power  plants. 
Underground  waters. 
Act,  last  legislature,  reserving  water  of  streams  for  fish. 

Flood  control,  reclamation  and  navigation.  V.  S.  McClatchy, 
Sacramento,  Chairman ;  P.  E.  Woodley,  Los  Angeles,  Secretary ; 
J.  P.  Baumgartner,  Santa  Ana. 

Topics  :  In  addition  to  those  indicated  in  the  title — 
Conservation. 
Storage. 

State  control  of  dams  and  reservoirs. 

Extending  the  work  of  securing  data  as  to  stream  flow  and  pre- 
cipitation. 

Financial  problems.  W.  F.  Chandler,  Fresno,  Chairman ;  J.  B. 
Olcese,  Merced,  Secretary ;  Charles  L.  Donohoe,  Willows. 

Topics :  Shall  the  state  assist  reclamation  and  irrigation  districts  by  issuing 
bonds,  or  guaranteeing  district  bonds,  or  by  other  methods? 

Or  should  the  state  simply  collect  interest  and  principal  of  district 
bonds  as  taxes  are  collected  (EelPs  plan)  ? 

Under  any  form  of  assistance  given  by  state,  how  far  should  there 
be  state  supervision  and  control  of  districts? 

The  administrative  body.  Charles  L.  Donohoe,  Willows,  Chair- 
man ;  W.  A.  Johnstone,  San  Francisco,  Secretary ;  and  E.  L.  Sisson, 
Red  Bluff. 

Topics :  Shall  administration  of  state  laws  as  to  uses  of  water  be  placed 
in  hands  of  one  commission,  or  board,  or  of  several? 

Should  some  existing  body  be  utilized  with  extended  powers  and 
jurisdiction,  or  a  new  one  established? 

State  ownership  or  control  of  natural  resources. 

Municipalities. 

Mining. 

Power  companies. 


STATE   WATER    PROBLEMS.  11 

The  reports  of  these  subcommittees  will  be  found  among  the  docu- 
ments submitted  with  this  report. 

13.  The  Legislative  Committee,  under  whose  direction  the  report  was 
formulated,  consists  of  L.  L.  Dennett,  Chairman;  W.  P.  Boone,  C.  L. 
Donohoe,  E.  L.  Sisson  and  F.  E.  Woodley. 

14.  The    original   appropriation   of   $2,500   proving   inadequate   for 
meeting  the  expenses  of  meetings  of  the  conference  and  preparation 
and  printing  of  the  report,  an  emergency  appropriation  of  $1,500  was 
created  on  April  4,  1916,  by  joint  resolution  of  the  Board  of  Control 
and  Controller.     Of  the  total  available  fund  of  $4,000,  there  has  been 
expended  in  cash  and  incurred  for  services  for  which  payment  has  not 
yet  been  made,  a  total  of  $3,846.57,  as  shown  in  the  statement  following : 

Expense   Account — Water    Problems    Conference. 

Original   appropriation   $2,500  00 

Emergency  appropriation 1,500  00 


$4,000  00 
Expenditures  (to  November  15,  1916): 

Secretary's  salary  14$  months  (total) $720  00 

Transcribing  proceedings 66  80 

Copies  irrigation  law 7  50 

Stamps,  telephone,  telegraph,  express,  printing, 

stenography,  supplies  167  7~> 

Traveling  expenses  members  to  meetings — except 

November  15th 1,416  30 

A.  L.  Cowell — drafting  irrigation  law 250  00 

$2,628  35 

Estimate  for  additional  expenses  incurred: 

Traveling    expenses    members  —  meeting    Novem- 
ber 15th $175  00 

Mimeographing,  supplies,  postage,  etc.,  several  issues 

of  chapters  to  members  for  criticism 296  55 

Expenses   Legislative   Bureau 171  67 

Printing  report,  distributing,  mailing,  etc 370  00 

Mimeographing  bills  for  legislature 160  00 

Incidentals 45  00 

-  1,218  22 

3,846  57 


Balance   appropriation   unexpended $153  43 


12  REPORT   OF    CONFERENCE 


CHAPTER  II. 

Findings  and  Recommendations  of  Conference. 

15.  The  conference  was  instructed  by  the  act  which  created  it  to 
consider  and  recommend  a  unified  state  policy  with  reference  to  the 
control  and  uses  of  water,  and  report  its  findings  and  conclusions,  with 
recommendations  regarding  legislation. 

16.  Obviously  the  conference  could  not  make  recommendations  as  to 
policy  and  legislation  without  study  and  a  fairly  comprehensive  idea 
of  the  subjects  referred  to  it.     The  preliminary  studies  made  quite 
evident  the  following  facts: 

(a)  That   the   state    of    California   possesses   in    a   remarkable 
degree,  water  resources  which  can  be  made  a  source  of  great  wealth 
to  the  state,  adding  to  her  products,  commerce  and  population, 
and  materially  augmenting  the  prosperity  and  happiness  of  her 
people. 

(b)  That  these  water  resources   are  to   a  great   extent  unde- 
veloped,   and   that    existing    conditions    do    not    lend    themselves 
readily  to  development. 

(c)  That    the    problems    involved    in    development    of    these 
resources  are  greater  in  number  and  greater  in  magnitude  than 
those  which  confront  any  other  state  in  the  Union,  and  that  they 
are  yet,  to  a  considerable  extent,  unsolved. 

(d)  That    these    problems    will    remain    unsolved    and    these 
resources  to  a  great  extent  undeveloped  until  the  state  has  estab- 
lished a  definite  policy  with  regard  thereto  and  created  authority 
with  special  powers  to  work  out  the  problems  and  to  direct  the 
various  matters  having  to  do  with  the  uses  of  water. 

(e)  That  the  state  is  not  now  in  position  to  itself  develop  these 
resources,  and,  if  they  are  not  to  be  permitted  to  remain  indefi- 
nitely in  disuse,  a  source  of  great  economic  waste  and  a  bar  to 
progress,  the  state  should  so  define  her  policies  and  frame  the 
legislation  necessary  to  carry  them  into  effect  as  to  secure  the 
largest  amount  of  active  cooperation  on  the  part  of  private  capital 
and  interested  landowners,  under  conditions  which  will  properly 
safeguard  state  interest. 

17.  Foremost  among  the  problems  faced  by  the  conference  is  the 
doctrine  of  riparian  rights  which  has  been  given  the  sanction  in  this 
state  of  court-made   law   and  which   retards   progress   toward  fullest 
utilization  of  the  water  resources  of  the  state  for  all  or  any  of  the  most 
valuable  purposes;  and  following  that,  each  important  in  its  way,  are 
the   many   diverse   and   sometimes   conflicting   interests   having  to   do 
with  the  ownership,  use  and  control  of  water,  and  the  fact  that  Cali- 
fornia,  with  regard  to  most  of  the  problems  involved,   has  adopted 
neither  a  policy,  nor  principles  upon  which  a  policy  might  be  based. 


STATE   WATER    PROBLEMS.  13 

Navigation  and  irrig/.ion  are  in  conflict,  the  situation  growing  rapidly 
more  acute,  with  the  federal  government  ranged  theoretically  on  the 
side  of  navigation,  but  winking  with  tolerant  eye  at  the  superior  rights 
of  irrigation;  conservation  stares  aghast  at  the  economic  waste  involved 
in  permitting  floods  to  run  unused  to  the  sea  when  it  assumes  they 
rould  be  put  to  beneficial  use;  reclamation  finds  itself  facing  steadily- 
rising  floods,  the  danger  from  which  is  augmented  by  the  protective 
barriers  constructed  under  state  law  for  district  defense;  flood  prob- 
lems and  the  menace  they  offer  can  not  be  solved  in  some  instances 
without  interstate  and  international  adjustment,  and  in  others  without 
a  state  policy  and  authority  to  insure  cooperation  of  independent 
interests;  the  state's  wonderful  wealth  of  hydroelectric  energy  can  not 
be  properly  developed  in  the  absence  of  state  action  and  adjustment  of 
restrictive  federal  regulations;  storage,  flood  control,  irrigation,  recla- 
mation and  navigation — each  one  a  valuable  factor  in  the  development 
of  the  state — are  prevented  playing  their  proper  parts  in  that  develop- 
ment by  lack  of  proper  state  recognition  and  aid;  these  and  other  great 
activities  are  more  or  less  suspicious  of  each  other  in  the  belief  that 
their  interests  are  antagonistic,  whereas,  under  a  wise  state  policy, 
their  interests  could  be  so  correlated  and  their  work  so  governed  that 
they  would  march  hand  in  hand  together,  with  benefit  to  each,  and 
with  greater  benefit  to  the  state  at  large. 

18.  The  attention  of  the  conference  has  been  called  by  E.  G.  Hopson 
of  the  United  States  Reclamation  Service  to  the  fact  that  the  absence 
of  a  definite  policy  on  the  part  of  California  in  such  matters  is  delay- 
ing or  preventing  the  accomplishment  of  results  in  the  Iron  Canj^on 
and  other  projects.     With  regard  to  the  project  named,  for  instance, 
there  were  suggested  in  the  Hopson  report,  1915,  ten  alternative  plans, 
some  providing  only  for  irrigation,  some  for  irrigation  and  flood  con- 
trol, some  for  irrigation,  flood  control  and  power,  and  all  affecting 
navigation  more  or  less.     Until  the  state  has  outlined  a  policy  with 
n^ard  to  these  various  interests  it  is  not  possible  to  determine  which 
of  these  alternative  plans  will  best  fit  in  with  future  conditions,  nor 
to  Arrange  with  such  interests  as  to  a  fair  apportionment  of  the  expense 
.o  each.     This  furnishes  a  concrete  instance  of  the  detrimental  effects 
of  the  state's  present  attitude. 

19.  It  was  evident  to  the  conference  that  unified  policy  as  to  these 
many  diverse  interests  could  not  be  recommended  without  a  careful 
examination    of   the   interests   and   their   correlation,    and   an   under- 
standing of  the  many  problems  which  they  present.     In  the  course 
of  such  examination  as  the  time  and  facilities  of  the  conference  per- 
mitted, it  became  apparent  that,  as  many  of  the  problems  had  not  been 
worked  out,  and  as  the  state  had  not  yet,  in  instances,  determined  the 
fundamental  principles  upon  which  they  should  be  worked  out,  the 


14  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

complete  unification  of  water  policies  within  the  apparent  intent  of 
the  act  is  not  now  practicable.  The  conference  therefore  devoted  its 
time  and  attention  to  a  study  of  the  various  problems  presented  with 
the  idea  of  formulating  a  plan  and  making  recommendations  which 
might  lead  to  future  unification.  In  pursuance  of  this  policy  it  has 
been  able  to  offer  suggestions  which  will  assist  in  harmonizing  the 
various  antagonistic  interests  concerned  in  the  uses  of  water  by  defi- 
nitely defining  their  respective  rights ;  to  outline  an  organization  which 
will  enforce  state  policies  as  adopted;  and  to  recommend  fundamental 
principles  upon  which  a  unified  state  policy  can  be  built  as  the  organi- 
zation develops  and  the  individual  problems  are  gradually  worked  to 
solution. 

20.  A  perfect  organization  can  not  be  built  in  a  year,  nor  by  one 
legislature.     To  attempt  too  much  is  frequently  to  lose  all.     The  con- 
ference  has   been    guided   in    its    recommendations    therefore   by   the 
thought  that  it  is  building,  not  for  this  year  nor  for  the  next  ten 
years,  but  so  far  as  conditions  can  be  forecast,  for  the  next  fifty  years. 
It  has  not  hesitated  to  be  apparently  radical  in  its  enunciation  of  a 
principle,  the  truth  of  which  was  apparently  established  by  its  investi- 
gation ;  but  it  has  deemed  it  unwise,  in  the  suggesting  of  machinery  for 
carrying  its  recommendations  into  effect,  to  make  such  radical  changes 
as  would  entirely  lose  the  value  of  the  existing  organization  before  it 
could  be  replaced  by  another  fully  competent  to  perform  the  many 
onerous  duties  called  for  by  the  outlined  plan. 

21.  Many  of  the  findings  and  recommendations  of  this  report,  as 
epitomized  in  this  chapter,  may  not  meet  at  first  with  ready  approval 
on  the  part  of  those  who  are  interested  in  conservation  and  the  intelli- 
gent development  of  the  state's  natural  resources.     To  such  the  sug- 
gestion is  offered  that  they  withhold  judgment  until  they  have  read 
with  open  mind,  and  carefully  considered,  the  full  report.     The  mem- 
bers of  the  conference  represent  many  fields  of  activity  with  varied 
experience  and  different  shades  of  thought.     There  were  very  material 
differences  of  view  among  them  as  to  the  principal  subjects  of  this 
report  when  the  conference  was  organized.     There  is  perhaps  no  single 
member  whose  original  views  on  some  of  these  subjects  have  not  been 
modified,   or  entirely   altered,   by  his  studies  in   connection  with  the 
work  of  the  conference.     Preconceived  notions  and  well  defined  judg- 
ments have  been  in  instances  reversed  by  investigation  of  the  facts 
with  opportunity  for  hearing  various  interests,  often  conflicting,  and 
by  consideration  of  the  state's  necessities  in  connection  with  the  prob- 
lems considered.     And  yet  these  men  of  many  minds  close  a  year's 
investigation  by  uniting  in  the  conclusions  of  this  report. 


STATE   WATER    PROBLEMS.  15 

22.  The  experience  of  the  conference  in  this  regard  has  convinced  it 
that  the  presentation  of  its  findings  and  recommendations  would  have 
little  weight  with  intelligent  legislators  who  are  called  upon  to  consider 
radical  changes  instate  policy  and  state  law,  unless  these  recommenda- 
tions are  accompanied  by  a  clear  statement  in- digested  form  of  the 
fads    and   conditions   and   authorities   upon   which   the   findings   and 
recommendations  are  based. 

23.  The  report,  therefore,  has  been  prepared  in  this  form,  with  the 
general  findings  and  recommendations  briefed  in  this  chapter;  with  a 
statement  in  the  succeeding  chapters,  at  the  sections  indicated,  of  the 
elements  of  each  problem,  and  the  reasons  upon  which  the  judgment 
of  the  conference  is  based;  and  with  index  and  reference  to  various 
portions  of  the  report  and  to  cited  authorities  so  that  any  desired  detail 
may  be  obtained.     Thus   each  student  of   conservation   and  of  state 
policy  in  connection  therewith,  may  readily  pursue  his  own  investi- 
gation and  determine  to  his  satisfaction  whether  the  conclusions  of  the 
conference  are  justified  or  not.    In  accordance  also  with  the  suggestion 
of  the  act  the  conference  has  had  prepared  by  the  State  Legislative 
Counsel   Bureau   proposed  bills  intended  to   carry   out  the  intent  of 
recommendations  herein  made,  for  consideration  of  the  legislature.    A 
list  of  these  bills  appears  in  Appendix  "B." 

The  findings  and  recommendations  of  the  conference  may  be  thus 
briefly  epitomized: 

24.  To   encourage  private  development  of  natural  resources.     The 
people  have  not  approved,  nor  does  our  form  of  government  readily 
lend  itself  to  the  rapid  and  efficient  development  and  management  by 
state  authority  of  such  great  and  varied  water  resources  as  are  present 
in  this  state.     The  fundamental  policy  of  the  state  then  should  be  to 
adopt  such  principles  and  enact  such  legislation  as  will  secure  early  and 
complete  conservation  and  use  of  the  water  resources  of  the  state  by 
private  interests  and  public  service  corporations  under  such  careful 
rest  fictions  as  will  fully  safeguard  state  and  private  rights  and  permit 
the  state  at  any  time  and  for  a  fair  consideration,  to  assume  complete 
control  and  ownership. 

25.  State  water  boards.     Theoretically  the  conference  favors  the  idea 
of  placing  all  matters  having  to  do  with  the  ownership,  control  and 
use  of  water  in  this  state  under  one  commission.    It  is  satisfied,  however, 
that  in  practice  such  a  plan  should  not  be  attempted  until  the  great 
water  problems  of  the  state  have  been  solved  in  policy  and  plan,  and 
1 1 ic  duties  to  be  performed  in  connection  therewith  have  been  reduced 
largely  to  administrative  ones.     It  recommends,  therefore,  that  state 
authority  in  water  matters  be  vested  in  three  state  commissions,  with 


16  REPORT   OF   CONFERENCE 

jurisdiction  so  regulated  as  not  to  clash,  and  with  wide  powers  similar 
to  those  enjoyed  by  the  State  Railroad  Commission. 

26.  For  the  three  commissions  there  are  recommended  a  State  Flood 
Control  Board  having  jurisdiction  over  all  matters  of  flood  control, 
reclamation  and  drainage,  and  taking  over  the  duties  of  the  present 
State  Reclamation  Board ;  the  present   State   Irrigation  Board,   with 
authority  over  general  matters  having  to  do  with  irrigation;  and  the 
present  State  Water  Commission,  with  authority  over  water  matters 
not  included  in  the  jurisdiction  of  the  other  boards.     Careful  consid- 
eration of  the  water  problems  of  the  state,  as  explained  in  this  report, 
will  indicate  that  t^e  satisfactory  solution  of  these  problems  will  call 
1'or  several  years'  work  of  three  boards,  even  if  composed  of  the  ablest 
men  to  be  found  in  the  state.     (Sees.  50-63.) 

27.  Water  legislation.     Inasmuch  as  hasty  and  ill-considered  legis- 
lation is  likely  to  present  more  or  less  obstacles  to  any  attempt  to  unify 
state  policy  as  to  water  matters,  it  is  recommended,  for  better  informa- 
tion  of  the  legislature,  that  copies  of  all  bills  introduced  before  that 
body  and  having  to  do  with  the  use  or  control  of  waters,  or  matters 
connected  therewith,  shall  be  at  once  referred  to  the  three  state  water 
commissions,  and  that  they  be  required,  according  to  their  respective 
jurisdictions,  to  report  back  to  the  legislature,  on  or  before  the  opening 
day  after  the  February  recess,  such  facts  and  recommendations  as  they 
deem  of  value  in  connection  therewith.     (Sec.  56.) 

28.  To   lessen    the    riparian   right    evil.     Recognition   by   the   state, 
through  her  courts,  of  the  common  law  doctrine  of  riparian  rights, 
furnishes  the  greatest  present  obstacle  to  speedy  and  efficient  develop- 
ment of  the  great  water  resources  of  the  state.     It  is  too  late  now  to 
abrogate  that  law,  as  was  wisely  done  in  a  number  of  western  states 
whose  conditions  are  similar  to  those  of  California;  and  it  is  at  best 
doubtful  if  the  riparian  right  can  be  legally  limited  to  cover  only  such 
water  as  is  actually  put  to  beneficial  use  by  the  riparian  owner.    While 
the  state  may  not  take  away  the  riparian  right,  which  under  California 
court  decisions  has  become  a  property  right,  it  may  modify  or  control 
the  remedies  applicable  to  the  protection  of  that  right.    The  conference 
recommends,  therefore,  as  measures  likely  to  minimize  the  existing  evil : 

(a)  A  law  empowering  the  court  to  determine  the  amount  of 
damage  sustained  by  a  complaining  riparian  owner  and  the  condi- 
tions under  which  the  proposed  interference  with  his  riparian  right 
may  continue. 

(6)  A  law  prohibiting  the  issue  of  an  injunction  on  application 
of  a  riparian  owner  unless  damage  is  shown. 

(c)  A  law  limiting  the  time  within  which  a  riparian  owner  may 
bring  action  to  protect  his  rights  to  three  months  after  notice  of  the 
work  of  which  he  complains.  (Sees.  152-172.) 


STATE   WATER    PROBLEMS.  17 

29.  Economic  -waste  of  water  power.  It  is  pointed  out  that  Cali- 
fornia is  allowing  to  go  to  waste  an  amount  of  available  hydroelectric 
power  which  if  produced  by  coal  would  cost  annually  $168,000,000; 
that  while  it  is  claimed  the  local  market  for  current  for  ordinary  uses 
of  light  and  power  is  less  than  the  capacity  of  installed  plants,  it  is 
not  improbable  that  improved  methods  of  service  and  of  marketing  the 
current  would  induce  increased  consumption;  that  at  all  events  there 
are  other  and  greater  uses  for  hydroelectric  power  not  yet  projected  in 
this  state  and  which  would  in  no  way  compete  with  the  business  of 
established  companies;  that  first  among  these  uses  is  the  fixation  of 
nitrogen  and  the  manufacture  therewith  of  fertilizers  and  explosives 
(vitally  necessary  to  the  life  of  every  nation  in  peace  and  in  war),  for 
which  the  state  is  now  sending  abroad  many  millions  of  dollars,  and  the 
market  for  which  outside  the  state  is  practically  unlimited;  that  among 
other  uses  are  the  smelting  of  iron  and  steel  in  the  electric  furnace  and 
the  manufacture  of  many  electro-chemical  products;  and  that  it  is 
declared  a  commercial  revolution  is  dawning  in  the  world  which  will 
place  the  centers  of  industrial  progress  not  necessarily  where  available 
supplies  of  coal  and  iron  are  found,  but  where  there  are  great  sources 
of  hydroelectric  power. 

80.  It  is  recommended,  therefore,  that  this  subject  receive  at  once 
careful  investigation  on  the  part  of  the  proper  authorities  to  determine 
to  what  extent  and  how  this  available  power  can  be  profitably  utilized; 
that  state  policies  in  these  matters  be  determined;  that  efforts  be  made 
to  secure  such  modification  of  prohibitive  or  restrictive  federal  legisla- 
tion as  will  encourage  embarking  of  private  capital  in  power  plants 
while  properly  safeguarding  public  interest;  and  that  the  state,  by 
encouragement  and  aid,  foster  such  enterprises,  but  always  with  such 
restrictions,  as,  while  insuring  protection  and  fair  profit  to  investors, 
shall  leave  proper  control  and  right  to  purchase  the  plants  at  a  fair 
price,  in  the  hands  of  the  state.  (Sees.  64-118.) 

31.  Superior  ri<jhls  of  irrigation.     Irrigation  is  recognized  as  a  supe- 
rior beneficial  use  of  water  to  navigation.    It  is  recommended  that  if  in 
the  future  it  shall  appear  necessary  to  take  out  of  a  navigable  stream 
for  irrigation  so  much  of  its  flow  as  to  endanger  navigation,  then  if 
such  navigation  be  necessary  in  the  state's  interest  for  insuring  profit- 
able markets  for  the  products  of  irrigation,  navigation  shall  be  main- 
tained by  canalization  (Sees.  239-257).     Mining,  too,  is  recognized  as 
an  inferior  right  which  will  have  to  yield  to  irrigation  when  the  two 
conflict  (Sec.  305). 

32.  Improvement  of  inland  waterways.     Attention  is  called  to  the 
advantages  enjoyed  by  certain  sections  of  the  state  in  transportation 


18  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

rates  because  of  inland  waterway  facilities;  to  the  important  part 
played  by  such  waterways  in  this  country  and  more  particularly  in 
Europe  in  the  development  of  districts  and  communities ;  to  the  valuable 
nucleus  which  the  state  has  for  an  inland  waterway  system  in  the 
Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  rivers,  and  the  San  Francisco  Bay  with 
its  various  branches,  which  must  serve  as  the  main  arteries  of  any  such 
system ;  to  the  possibilities  of  extension  of  this  system,  through  canaliza- 
tion, so  as  to  cover  practically  the  greater  portions  of  the  Sacramento 
and  San  Joaquin  valleys;  to  the  fact  that  water  communication  of  this 
character  would  insure  intensive  cultivation  of  the  entire  floor  of  the 
two  great  valleys,  since  the  products,  with  cheap  water  transportation, 
could  find  access  to  world  markets  at  more  profitable  prices,  and  that 
thereby  the  commerce,  wealth  and  population  of  the  state  would  be 
greatly  increased  (Sees.  221-238  and  333-361). 

33.  In  the  absence  of  definite  data  as  to  the  expense  involved  in 
gradual  extension  of  such  an  inland  waterway  system  the  conference 
can  not  express  a  judgment  as  to  its  economic  value.     It  recommends, 
however,  that  the  facts  covered  in  the  Appendix  "A"  to  this  report, 
"The  Economic  Value  of  Inland  Waterways  to  California,"  be  con- 
sidered as  foundation  for  an  exhaustive  inquiry  into  the  subject,  and 
that  necessary  surveys  and  estimates  be  made  to  determine  the  feasibility 
and  cost  of  canalization  of  the  two  great  valleys.    Following  the  ascer- 
tainment of  the  facts,  it  recommends  that  the  state  determine  a  definite 
policy  as  to  inland  navigation,  and,  if  it  be  practicable,  establish  and 
maintain   general  open  water  highways  over  which  her  citizens  may 
freely  ply  water  craft  for  business  or  pleasure.     Such  a  policy  is  now 
pursued  by  the  state  with  excellent  results  in  connection  with  her  land 
highways. 

34.  State  control  of  reclamation.     In  connection  with  reclamation, 
it  is  recommended  that  a  policy  be  followed  throughout  the  state  sim- 
ilar in  principle  to  that  now  enforced  under  the  Reclamation  Board 
Act  throughout  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  Drainage  District; 
that  is,  the  establishment  of  comprehensive  plans  for  flood  control  and 
reclamation  suited  to   the   conditions  which  obtain   in  the  respective 
sections,  and  the  enforcement  b}r  state  authority  of  compliance  with 
such   plans   by   individuals   and   districts.     It   is   contemplated,   while 
general  control  shall  be  exercised  by  the  state  authority,  actual  con- 
struction, so  far  as  practicable,  and  administration  of  internal  affairs 
shall  be  done  by  the  various  districts  under  general  state  laws  insuring 
efficient  administration,  but  that  the  state  board  may  on  request,  or 
shall,  in  case  of  necessity,  if  districts  or  individuals  refuse  or  fail  to 
carry   out   an   adopted  plan,   undertake   construction  of  works  itself. 
Only  by  some  plan  of  this  character  can  safety  be  assured  to  all  resi- 


STATE   WATER    PROBLEMS.  19 

dents  in  a  flood  control  district,  since  each  holding  is  dependent  not 
only  on  it.s  own  defensive  works  but  also  on  those  of  its  neighbors. 
(Sees.  57-60  and  201-216.) 

35.  State  aid  for  conservation.     It  is  recommended  that  a  general 
plan  of  state  aid  be  inaugurated  for  storage,  irrigation,  reclamation, 
and  similar  enterprises  which  serve  to  conserve  and  devote  to  beneficial 
use  great  natural  resources,  and  which  add  thereby  to  the  wealth  and 
development  of  the  commonwealth.     The  recommendation  looks  to  the 
use  of  the  state's  credit  therefor,  and  the  issue  of  underlying  state 
bonds  under  authority  of  a  proposed  constitutional  amendment.     The 
( ondition  is  made,  however,  that  necessary  restrictions  shall  be  imposed 
to  insure  the  return   to  the  state   of  moneys   thus   obtained,   and  to 
insure  protection  to  public  and  projects  by  state  approval  of  plans 
and  supervision  of  construction  and  operation.     Assessments  for  pay- 
ment of  district  bonds  and  interest  are  to  be  collected  by  county  tax 
collectors  and  the  land  sold  for  nonpayment  of  assessment,  as  is  done 
in  the  case  of  delinquent  taxes.     In  this  way,  it  is  believed,  the  state 
can  remedy  without  loss  to  herself,  the  present  unsatisfactory  condi- 
tion   which    forces    irrigation    and    reclamation    districts    at   times   to 
market  their  bonds  for  15  to  30  per  cent  discount,  and,  in  effect,  to 
pay   that  much  more  than  the  market  price  for  labor  and  material. 
(Sees.  318-330.) 

36.  Temporary    state    aid.     Pending    passage    of    a    constitutional 
amendment  sanctioning  state  aid  and  loan  of  credit  to  approved  irri- 
gation, flood  control,  reclamation   and  water  power  enterprises,  it  is 
recommended  for  temporary  relief  that  a  revolving  fund  of  $500,000 
be  created  by  the  state  out  of  which  shall  be  paid  on  demand  any 
coupon  of  such  an  enterprise,  payment  of  which  had  been  refused 
by  the  proper  authorities  thereof.     This  payment,  however,  would  be 
made  only  for  coupons  of  enterprises  whose  bonds  had  been  approved 
by  the  proper  state  commission,  and  which  had  agreed  to  accept  cer- 
tain conditions  of  the  law,  principal  of  which  is  that  which  declares 
that   when   payments   thus   made   on   behalf   of   any   such   enterprise 
amount  to  15  per  cent  of  the  current  interest  due  by  it  for  one  year, 
ihe  state  may  take  charge  of  administration  of  such  enterprise  and 
retain     it    until    payment    of    the     amount    of    coupons    redeemed. 
(Sees.  331,  332.) 

37.  Underground  waters.     In  order  that  the  beneficial  use  of  under- 
ground waters  may  not  be  hampered  by  the  gradual  recognition  in  this 
state  of  the  doctrine  of  riparian  right  in  connection  therewith,  it  is 
recommended   that  the  state  definitely  define   the  rights  of  users  of 
underground  waters.     The  conference  recommends  in  connection  there- 
with the  recognition  of  the  doctrine  of  prior  appropriation,  so  that 


20  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

he  who  first  makes  beneficial  use  of  the  water  shall  have  the  right  to 
so  much  as  is  necessary  for  the  purpose  to  which  it  is  applied.  Appro- 
priation of  underground  waters,  it  believes,  should  be  placed  under 
control  of  the  State  Water  Commission,  but  the  owner  of  160  acres, 
or  less,  should  be  permitted,  without  application,  to  develop  water 
underneath  such  land  for  use  thereon.  (Sees.  193-200.) 

38.  Utilizing  storage  for  flood  control.     It  is  recognized  that  because 
of   physical   conditions   storage   for   care   of  flood  waters   can   not   be 
universally  applied  in  California,  but  it  is  urged  that  it  can  be  more 
generally  applied  than  is  now  being  done.     It  is  recommended  in  the 
interest  of  conservation  that  wherever  practical  flood  waters  be  cared 
for  by  storage,  and  that  cooperation  among  various  interests  concerned 
be  encouraged  so  as  to  make  storage  projects  practical  which  are  not 
economically  justified  for  one  interest  alone.     (Sees.  258-283.) 

39.  State  control  of  dams.     In  view  of  the  great  loss  of  life  and 
property,  which  may  result  from  the  breaking  of  the  dams  of  storage 
reservoirs   and   precipitation   of   the   stored   waters   upon   the   valleys 
below,  it  is  recommended  that  the  state  exercise  full  control  over  the 
planning,  construction,  maintenance  and  operation  of  such  structures, 
with  full  power  to  prevent  their  use  unless  declared  safe  by  competent 
authority;  and  that  any  violation  of  the  law  or  of  the  order  of  the 
established  authority,  in  connection  therewith  on  the  part  of  owners, 
contractors  or  operators,  shall  be  punished  not  by  fine  but  by  imprison- 
ment.    (Sees.  112-117.) 

40.  Reclamation   assessments.     For   financing   the   reclamation    por- 
tion   of    the    Sacramento    River    flood    control    project    and    other 
reclamation   projects   it   is   recommended   that   the   assessment,   which 
must  be  based  on  benefits  received  by  separate  tracts  of  land,  be  not 
levied  and  spread  until  after  the  project  be  completed;  that  the  benefits 
be   then   determined   by   the   difference   between   the   county   assessed 
valuation  of  the  land  before  reclamation  and  after  reclamation,  with 
certain  allowances   for  increment  of  value   due  to  other  causes,   and 
provision  for  equalizing  the  assessments  of  derelict  county  assessors; 
that  the  cost  of  reclamation,  together  with  interest  on  the  bonds,  be 
paid  out  of  funds  secured  from  sale  of  underlying  state  bonds  issued 
in  accordance  with  the  proposed  plari  of  general  state  aid.     (Sees.  217- 
219.) 

41.  Surveys    of    storage    sites.     As    storage    of    flood    waters    is    so 
important   in   the   interest   of   flood   control,    irrigation,   water   power 
development,  reclamation  and  navigation,  it  is  recommended  that  com- 
prehensive surveys  be  made   of  the  available  storage  reservoirs  and 
reservoir  sites  in  the  state,   with   estimates  of  the  co«*  of  necessary 


STATE  WATER   PROBLEMS.  21 

works  for  utilization  of  the  storage  for  various  purposes,  and  informa- 
tion as  to  the  territory  and  interests  which  could  be  benefited  thereby. 
(Sec.  110.)  And  since  the  flood  problems  of  the  state  can  not  be 
studied  and  properly  solved  in  the  absence  of  exact  data  indicating 
the  flood  flow  which  may  be  anticipated  in  the  various  drainage  areas, 
it  is  recommended  that  the  state  secure  as  soon  as  possible  complete 
data  of  this  nature.  (Sec.  151.) 

42.  Expense  in  water  litigation.  To  reduce  materially  the  great 
expense  and  delay  involved  in  water  litigation  it  is  recommended: 

(a)  That  the  findings  of  the  three  state  water  commissions  be 
final  as  to  all  matters  of  fact ; 

(6)  That  expert  witnesses  be  no  longer  allowed  to  testify  as 
such  in  behalf  of  either  side ;  that  a  court  expert  be  appointed 
when  necessary,  by  agreement  between  the  parties  to  the  suit,  or, 
if  they  can  not  agree,  then  by  the  court;  and  that  each  side  may 
cross  examine  the  expert  as  to  matters  concerning  which  he 
testifies ; 

(c)  That  a  superior  judge  be  selected  by  the  Governor  to  try 
all   water  cases,  in  accordance  with  the  principle  already  estab- 
lished in  connection  with  trial  of  reclamation  cases.     Such  a  plan 
would  greatly  reduce  the  number  and  expense  of  Superior  Court 
trials  as  necessitated  by  the  present  system,  and  would  tend  to 
free  them  from  local  influence  and  prejudice; 

(d)  That   procedure   in   the   exercise   of   the   right   of  eminent 
domain  by  a  state  agency  be  so  changed  as  to  avoid  delays  dan- 
gerous  to   public   interest   and   safety   which   are   possible  under 
existing  methods.     It  is  proposed  to  adopt  the  plan  successfully 
followed  in  Mississippi  and  Arkansas,  under  which  possession  of 
the  property  is  secured  at  once  by  payment  of  its  valuation  as 
fixed  by  the  court.     Subsequent  proceedings  are  had  to  determine 
finally  the  value,  and  the  necessary  adjustment  is  made  by  pay- 
ment of  more  money,  or  by  return  of  a  portion  already  paid,  as 
the  case  may  be.     (Sees.  311-317.) 

4:i.  \Ynlfr  for  municipalities.  The  conference  believes  unwise  the 
doctrine  of  "progressive  development"  under  which  a  municipality  is 
permitted  to  tie  up  indefinitely  unlimited  quantities  of  water  to  meet 
anticipated  needs  of  a  remote  future.  It  recommends  instead  that  the 
State  Water  Commission  be  given  necessary  discretion  to  make  reason- 
able provision  for  future  development  of  municipalities.  (Sees.  307- 
310.) 

44.  Use  of  interstate  waters.  It  is  recommended  that  the  state 
abandon  its  present  policy  which  declares  that  the  water  flowing  from 
California  into  another  state  in  natural  channels  is  subject  to  use  in 
California,  regardless  of  rights  claimed  thereto  under  the  laws  of  the 
;.djacent  state ;  and  which  declares  also  that  water  may  not  be  diverted 
through  artificial  channels  from  California  for  use  in  another  state. 


22  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

It  is  recommended  that  there  be  substituted  for  such  policy  that  now 
followed  by  the  state  of  Oregon  which  authorizes  refusal  of  permit 
to  divert  Oregon  waters  into  another  state  for  use,  unless  that  other 
state  permits  similar  diversion  of  its  own  waters  into  Oregon. 
(Sees.  284-296.) 

45.  Congressional  aid  for  flood  control.     Attention  is  directed  to  the 
fact  that  congress,  in  the  flood  control  bill  which  has  already  passed 
the  house  and  is  now  before  the  senate  for  consideration  at  the  short 
session,  has  outlined  an  entirely  new  policy  under  which  it  is  proposed 
to   accord  to  deserving  flood   control   projects   that  congressional  aid 
which  has  been  in  the  past  theoretically  limited  to  projects  in  the 
interest   of   commerce   and   navigation.      Should   the   bill   pass   in   its 
present  shape  its  provisions  will  be  applicable  to  other  flood  control 
projects  of  the  state,  as  well  as  to  the  Sacramento  River  project,  which 
chances  to  be  the  only  project  of  the  kind  west  of  the  Mississippi  now 
ready  for  approval.     (Sees.  145-147.) 

46.  Relation  between  navigation  and  irrigation.     It  is  recommended 
that  adjustment  be  had  with  the  federal  government  as  to  the  apparent 
conflict  between  the  duty  of  the  War  Department  in  preventing  injury 
to  navigation  and  the  conceded  superior  rights  in  this  state  of  irrigation 
over  navigation.     (Sees.  256,  257.) 

47.  Adjustment  of  interests  in  Colorado  River.     It  is  recommended 
that  adjustment  be  secured  if  possible  between  the  several  states  having 
interests  in  the  waters  of  the  Colorado  River,  and  between  the  United 
States  and  Mexico,  bound  by  treaty  stipulations  in  regard  thereto,  in 
order  that  the  serious  flood  problems  of  that  river,  so  menacing  to 
California  lands,  may  be  permanently  solved,  and  in  order  that  its 
waste  waters  may  be  conserved  for  use  on  California  lands  which  have 
no  other  available  sources  of  supply  for  irrigation.     (Sees.  120-128  and 
279-281.) 

48.  Contest  as  to  control  of  Lake  Tahoe.     It  is  recommended  that 
the  state  right  as  to  control  of  its  share  of  the  waters  of  Lake  Tahoe, 
now  a  matter  of  issue  between  the  state  and  the  United  States  Recla- 
mation Service  and  the  Interior  Department,  be  determined  as  soon  as 
possible,  and  that  a  state  policy  be  established  with  regard  to  such 
waters  which,  while  protecting  the  lake's  scenic  beauties  and  state  and 
private   rights,   shall   allow   such  beneficial   use   of  lake   waters   as   is 
practicable.     (Sees.  286-290.) 

49.  Water  for  fish  life.     It  is  recommended  that  the  provision  in 
the  act  of  1915,  amending  Sec.  637  of  the  Penal  Code  and  forbidding 
the  holding  back  or  use  of  stream  water  needed  for  fish  life  below,  be 
repealed.    Such  provision  would  prevent  a  higher  beneficial  use  of  the 
water.     (Sec.  118.) 


STATE   WATER    PROBLEMS.  23 


CHAPTER  III. 

Consolidation  of  Commissions. 

50.  In  considering  a  unified  policy  for  the  state  as  to  all  matters 
connected  with  the  control,  ownership  and  use  of  water,  it  was  quite 
natural  for  the  conference  to  make  careful  investigation  and  give  con- 
sit  leration  to  the  feasibility  of  placing  all  such  matters  under  control 
of  one  board,  or  commission,  and  giving  it  jurisdiction  and  power 
sufficient  to  accomplish  necessary  results.  Such  a  plan  has  much  to 
commend  i't,  and  was  urged  before  the  conference  in  an  able  paper  by 
((.  K.  Grunsky,  as  desirable,  not  only  for  matters  connected  with  water, 
but  for  other  matters  now  handled  by  various  boards  and  commissions, 
or  departments.  His  suggestion  looked  to  a  board  of  public  works, 
which  would  take  over  the  powers  and  duties  of  the  Engineering 
Department,  the  Highway  Commission,  the  Reclamation  Board,  the 
Water  Commission,  the  Irrigation  Board,  the  Conservation  Commission 
and  perhaps  others,  giving  it  powers  similar  to  those  of  the  State  Rail- 
road Commission,  and  an  organization  which  could  adapt  itself  readily, 
by  departments  under  expert  heads,  to  a  proper  management  of  the 
various  important  matters  with  which  it  would  have  to  deal. 

fil.  The  members  of  the  conference  favor  the  general  theory  indicated, 
i:iid  many  were  of  the  impression  at  first  that  it  could  be  made  of 
present  practical  application  to  the  needs  of  California.  The  sub- 
committee on  administration,  to  which  was  referred  this  subject 
(Sec.  12),  made  careful  investigation,  and,  following  its  report,  the 
conference  had  a  number  of  discussions.  The  conclusion  was  finally 
reached  that  even  as  to  water  matters  a  general  consolidation  of  com- 
missions would  be  unwise  at  this  time,  though  it  is  believed  such  a  plan 
could  be  followed  in  the  future  to  advantage.  The  difficulty  lies  in 
Hie  multiplicity  of  the  water  problems  of  the  state,  the  important, 
character  of  most  of  them,  and  the  fact  that  they  are  to  a  great  extent 
unsolved,  or  only  partially  solved  problems.  It  is  believed,  therefore, 
thai  each  group  of  problems  can  be  best  developed  and  worked  out  by 
trained  specialists  and  administrators  devoting  their  entire  time  and 
attention  thereto ;  and  that  consolidation  under  one  general  commission, 
or  board,  should  not  be  attempted  until  such  time  as  the  various  prob- 
lems have  been  satisfactorily  solved,  and  there  remains  only  the  purely 
executive  work  along  well  established  lines  or  principles,  which  can  be 
turned  over  to  a  single  commission,  whether  called  by  the  name  of 
board  of  public  works,  or  otherwise. 

52.  The  conference  is  aware  that  other  states  have  consolidated  the 
duties  now  performed  by  various  commissions  in  California  under  one 


24  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

board ;  but  it  has  also  found  that  in  none  of  these  states  have  there  been 
so  many  or  so  great  problems,  nor  were  they  in  the  important  develop- 
ment stage  as  in  California,  Jt  has  also  evidence  that  to  burden  one 
board,  or  commission,  with  a  multiplicity  of  powers  and  duties,  con- 
nected with  widely  diverse  interests  requiring  special  knowledge  and 
training,  not  infrequently  results  in  grave  neglect  of  all  interests,  or  of 
all  but  one  or  two.  A  private  organization,  under  able  excutive  man- 
agement and  with  capital,  can  readily  adjust  itself  to  new  demands  of 
this  character;  it  is  much  more  difficult  to  do  so  in  a  state  commission 
with  the  restrictions  in  personnel  dictated  by  politics,  and  the  restric- 
tions in  policy  and  action  due  to  legislative  enactment  and  appropriation, 
or  the  lack  thereof. 

53.  For  the  reasons  indicated  the  conference  advises  against  the  con- 
solidation at  this  time  of  the  State  Reclamation  Board,  the  State  Water 
Commission,   and   the   State   Irrigation    Board.     It   believes   that   the 
efficiency  of  these  three  commissions  can  be  very  materially  increased 
along  lines  suggested,  and  that  by  following  such  a  policy,  the  state 
will  not  only  receive  immediate  and  steadily  increasing  benefit,  but  that 
as  the  many  problems  of  these  commissions   are  thus  solved  and   a 
definite  state  policy  in  regard  thereto  established  and  projects  adopted, 
the  time  may  come  when  the  administrative  work  of  carrying  out  the 
policy  and  completing  the  projects  can  safely  and  advantageously  be 
left  to  a  consolidated  commission.     In  that  event  it  might  be  well  to  so 
organize  such  consolidated  commission  that  it  shall  be  composed  of  not 
more  than  five  members,  each  devoting  himself  to  certain  specialties 
and  acting  as  head  of  a  department,  and  carrying  out  in  such  depart- 
ment the  policy  approved  by  the  commission  as  a  body.     The  conference 
believes  that  better  results  can  be  secured  by  having  such  a  commis- 
sion composed,  not  of  specialists  or  engineers,  but  of  men  of  proven 
executive  and  administrative  capacity,  with  authority  to  employ  any 
necessary  engineering  and  other  talent. 

54.  In  order  that  the  three  commissions  named  may  prove  efficient 
and  possibly  pave  the  way  for  a  consolidation,  as  suggested,  the  con- 
terence  recommends  that  each  be  given  power  and  authority  in   its 
respective  field  similar  to  that  possessed  by  the  State  Railroad  Com- 
mission,  and  that  its  findings  as  to  facts,   in  all  matters  within   its 
jurisdiction,  be  final,  so  that  the  courts  need  pass  only  on  law  points. 
If  the  latter  recommendation  be  carried  out  there  can  be  effected  a  great 
saving  in  time,  money  and  energy,  now  unnecessarily  expended  in  vexa- 
tious litigation.     Jurisdiction  over  all  the  water  problems  of  the  state 
should   be   so   distributed   among   these   three   commissions  that   each 
problem  may  be  effectively  handled  without  clash  of  authority.     That 


STATK    WATKK     I'K'oHl.l  25 

this   is   entirely    practical    is   demonstrated    by   tin1   experience   of  the 
present  Reclamation  Board  and  the  Water  Commission. 

55.  Cnder  the  plan  proposed  each  of  the  three  commissions  should 
he  composed  of  men  of  proven  balance  and  ability,  giving  their  entire 
time  to  the  duties  of  the  office  and  receiving  compensation  sufficiently 
large  to  justify  their  abandonment  of  private  business.     The  positions 
should  be  removed  entirely  from  political  influence,  and  local  prejudice, 
and  the  commissioners  should  be  capable  administrators  rather  than 
expert  specialists.     It  is  recommended  that  the  Governor  have  power, 
in  his  discretion,  to  appoint  the  same  person  as  member  of  any  two  of 
these  commissions  with  the  proviso  that  such  appointee  shall  receive 
only  one  salary.     This  power,  wisely  exercised,  may  lead  in  time  to  a 
practical   consolidation   of   commissions,   if   such   policy   shall   appear 
feasible  and  wise. 

56.  That  the  legislature  may  act  on  all  bills  having  to  do  with  water, 
with  full  knowledge  of  all  the  facts,  and  thus  materially  aid  in  the 
unification  of  policies  which  is  the  object  of  this  report,  it  is  recom- 
mended that  copies  of  all  such  bills  introduced  at  the  first  month's 
session  of  the  legislature  be  promptly  referred  to  the  three  state  water 
commissions  with  instructions  to  report  back  in  accordance  with  their 
respective  jurisdictions,  on  or  before  the  first  day  following  the  legis- 
lative recess,  such  facts  and  recommendations  in  connection  with  such 
bills  as  may  be  of  value. 

State  Flood  Control  Board. 

57.  In  pursuance  of  the  policy  thus  indicated,  the  conference  recom- 
mends radical  reorganization  of  the  State  Reclamation  Board.     That 
board  is  now  composed  of  seven  members  serving  without  salary.     They 
are  allowed  per  diem  for  a  limited  number  of  meetings  per  year,  but 
are  necessarily  devoting  to  state  work  a  great  deal  of  time  for  which 
they  receive  no  compensation.     The  system  is  bad,  and  must  result  in 
grave  injustice  to  the  individual  officials  or  in  neglect,  more  or  less 
serious,  of  the  state 's  interest.     The  board  should  be  composed,  say,  of 
three  members,  devoting  all  their  time  to  the  duties  of  the  office  and 
receiving  a  salary  commensurate  with  the  importance  of  those  duties. 

58.  The  jurisdiction  of  the  Reclamation  Board  under  the  present 
Reclamation  Board  Act  is  confined  to  care  of  the  great  flood  control 
project  of  the   Sacramento  River   and  matters   connected   therewith. 
This  project  is  a  state  project  by  formal  adoption  and  because  it  is 
essential    to   inland    navigation    and    protection    against   flood,    and   a 
necessary    l';ietor    in    I  he    reclamation    of    rich    lands    in    the   two   great 
valleys  of  the  state,  while  the  development  of  the  wealth,  population, 
and  commerce  of  the  state  -depend  partly  upon  it.     The  powers  of  the 
board  are  only  locally  applied,  however,  because  confined  to  fourteen 


26  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

counties  of  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  valleys,  and  for  certain 
purposes,  on  tributaries  of  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  rivers 
outside  such  counties. 

59.  The  conference  recommends  that  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Reclama- 
tion Board,  reorganized,  as  suggested,  and  under  the  name  of  "State 
Flcod  Control  Board,"  be  extended  over  the  entire  state,  and  that  it 
be  given   sole  and  very  full  powers  in  all  matters  of  flood  control, 
reclamation,  as  connected  with  flood  control,  and  drainage,  with  super- 
vision of  dams,   etc.     It  believes  that  the  initiative   in  flood   control 
projects  should  come  from  local  interests,  that  the  plans  therefor  should 
be  submitted  to  and  approved  by  the  Flood  Control  Board  and  that  the 
actual  construction,  so  far  as  possible,  should  be  done  by  the  local 
organizations  or  districts,  subject  to  supervision  of  the  board's  engineer; 
and  that  the  districts  should  be  independent  in  management  of  their 
internal    affairs    under    laws    providing    for    efficient    administration 
thereof.     The  board  should  be  empowered  to  take  active  direction  of 
construction  in  a  particular  district  or  project  when  requested  so  to  do. 
It  should  retain  permanently  the  administrative  direction  of  the  Sacra- 
mento and  Sa,n  Joaquin  Drainage  District  and  of  the  Sacramento  River 
flood  control  project,  as  contemplated  by  the  present  act. 

60.  In  view  of  certain  complications  which  exist  as  to  control  and 
use  of  interstate  waters  in  which  California  is  interested,  as  explained 
in  Chapter  XIII  of  this  report,  on  "Interstate  Waters,"  the  Flood 
Control  Board  should  have  authority  to  confer  with  the  authorities  of 
other  states  and  of  the  United  States  and  thus  aid,  so  far  as  practicable, 
in  securing  an  early  adjustment  of  these  complications. 

* 

State   Irrigation    Board. 

61.  The  present  Irrigation  Board  seems  to  have  been  established,  as 
was  the  Reclamation  Board  originally  in  1911,  as  an  experiment,  its 
members  receiving  no  salary  and  no  adequate  allowance  for  expenses. 
The  valuable  work  which  this  commission  can  accomplish  with  proper 
authority  and  resources,  is  already  apparent.     Its  members  should  be 
properly  salaried,  clothed  with  necessary  authority,  and  given  an  appro- 
priation which  will  make  the  commission  of  value  in  the  unified  plan 
herein  suggested.     The  principles  embodied  in  the  Irrigation  Board 
Act  seem  to  meet  general  approval  of  irrigation  interests,  but  practice 
under  it  will  undoubtedly  suggest   details  in  which  the   act  can  be 
improved,  as  was  the  case  with  the  Reclamation  Board  Act.     The  con- 
ference recommends  J;hat  such  control  over  irrigation  districts  or  other 
public  irrigation  enterprises  as  shall  be  assumed  by  the  state  shall  be 
administered  through  the   Irrigation   Board  under  the  same  general 
policy  as  recommended  for  supervision  of  reclamation  districts  by  the 


STATE   WATER    PROBLEMS.  27 

State  Flood  Control  Board.  It  is  recommended  that  plans  for  irriga- 
tion districts  be  subject  to  approval  by  the  State  Irrigation  Board 
instead  of  by  the  State  Engineering  Department  as  at  present,  but  that 
any  necessary  engineering  investigation  and  report  needed  by  the  board 
be  secured  by  it  from  the  State  Engineering  Department.  It  is 
recommended  that  the  Carey  Act  Commission,  created  ex  officio  by  the 
act  of  1915,  be  abolished  and  its  powers  and  duties  imposed  on  the 
State  Irrigation  Board. 

State  Water  Commission. 

62.  The  present  State  Water  Commission  was  established,  too,  without 
full  realization  on  the  part  of  the  legislature  of  the  magnitude  of  the 
problems  involved.  The  commission  was  given  insufficient  power  to 
carry  on  the  work  for  which  it  was  created.  The  conference  urges  that 
the  Water  Commission  be  given  full  jurisdiction  and  powers  over 
matters  connected  with  the  uses  of  water  and  not  interfering  with  the 
powers  already  outlined  for  the  State  Reclamation  Board  and  the  State 
Irrigation  Board.  Included  among  such  powers  should  be  the  right  to 
reject  an  application  for  the  use  of  water  when  in  its  judgment  the 
approval  thereof  would  be  against  public  welfare;  the  exercise  of  such 
power,  however,  to  be  subject  to  review  by  the  courts  of  the  state.  In 
determining  the  question  of  public  welfare  the  commission  may  take 
into  consideration  the  relative  value  or  importance  of  the  possible 
conflicting  uses  of  such  water. 

(>3.  Elsewhere  in  this  report  will  be  found  various  suggestions  in 
connection  with  the  conduct  of  these  three  commissions  and  the  financing 
of  the  projects  with  which  they  would  deal  under  the  policy  herein 
recommended,  while  the  proposed  bills  submitted  herewith  for  consid- 
eration of  the  legislature  will  indicate  some  of  the  steps  thought  neces- 
sary to  carry  the  recommendations  of  this  report  into  effect. 


28  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Conservation  and  Use  of  Water. 

64.  In  California  rainfall  is  not  sufficient  on  the  average  and  is  not 
so  distributed  through  the  season  as  to  produce  maximum  crops.     Drain- 
age areas  have  not  been  so  arranged  by  nature  as  to  give  most  water 
where  there  is  most  thirsty  and  arable  land.     In  the  Sacramento  Valley, 
with  4,238,000  acres  of  land,  including  foothill  land,  there  is  an  average 
run-off  of  25,910,000  acre  feet— more  than  sufficient,  if  it  could  be  con- 
served, for  profitable  irrigation  of  the  land.     In  the  San  Joaquin  Valley, 
with  12,238,000  acres  of  land,  there  is  an  average  annual  run-off  of 
12,121,000  acre  feet — only  one-sixth  as  much  in  proportion  as  is  found 
in  the  Sacramento  Valley  and  quite  insufficient  for  irrigation  of  all  the 
land  under  present  methods.     South  of  the  Tehachapi  the  proportion 
of  surface  run-off  to  land,  arable,  arid  and  semi  arid,  is  still  smaller.     In 
the  interest  of  irrigation  there  is,  therefore,  every  incentive  for  conserva- 
tion of  water,  and  particularly  of  that  portion  which  under  present 
conditions  runs  in  waste  to  the  sea. 

65.  Apparently  there  is  not  enough  water  to  permit  fullest  cultivation 
of  all  the  lands  of  the  state,  even  if  properly  used.     Experiments  made, 
in  the  course  of  researches  in  behalf  of  San  Francisco's  water  supply  in 
1914  and  1915,  showed  that  as  much  as  80  per  cent  of  the  water  used  for 
irrigation  in  certain  localities  was  lost  by  deep  percolation,  while  the 
average  loss  on  sandy  loam  and  loam  soil,  largely  through  careless  or 
faulty  irrigation,  was  60  per  cent.     It  was  found  that  where  water  was 
cheapest  there  was  the  greatest  waste  and  least  efficiency,  and  where  it 
was  costly,  and  particularly  if  accurately  measured,  there  was  it  most 
economically  and  most  efficiently  used.     These  facts  prompt  the  sugges- 
tion on  the  part  of  Thos.  H.  Means,  formerly  in  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture  and  later  with  the  United  States  Reclama- 
tion Service,  that  the  state,  in  addition  to  providing  that  water  shall  be 
beneficially  used,  should  set  a  limit  to  the  amount  per  acre  which  may  be 
used.     As  this  amount  would  vary  with  different  conditions  in  various 
parts  of  the  state,  Mr.  Means  further  suggests  that  authority  should  be 
placed  in  the  proper  state  commission  to  determine  the  limit  for  each 
locality. 

66.  As  to  the  other  main  purposes  for  which  water  is  used — domestic 
supply,  power  and  mining,  it  is  notorious  that  a  municipality  owning 
its  own  water  system  and  charging  a  flat  rate  will  show  a  consumption 
per  capita  two  or  three  times  as  great  as  one  which  is  supplied  under  the 
meter  system.     In  use  for  power  there  is  practically  no  loss  of  the  stored 
water,  though,  if  it  can  not  be  used  below  the  power  plant  for  irrigation, 
it  becomes  at  once  a  question  which  is  the  more  valuable  use.     And  it 


STATK    WATKIi     I'UOULEMS.  29 

may  some  day  become  a  question  as  to  whether  the  use  of  water  for 
mining — if  it  can  not  afterwards  be  used  for  irrigation — shall  not  be 
abandoned.  Such  action  would  be  in  harmony  with  the  steadily  grow- 
ing sentiment  that  irrigation  is  a  .superior  use  to  navigation. 

67.  The  suggestions  made  above  have  to  do  with  the  conservation  of 
water  in  the  use  thereof.     An  even  more  important  subject  is  the  con- 
servation by  storage  of  the  flood  waters  and  regular  flow  which  now  run 
in  waste  to  the  sea,  and  the  beneficial  use  thereof  for  one  or  more  of  the 
four  purposes  named. 

68.  Some  of  the  difficulties  in  connection  with  the  problem  of  holding 
back  California  floods  in  reservoirs  are  indicated  in  Chapter  XII  on 
Storage    for    Flood    Control.      But    manifestly    every    encouragement 
should  be  offered  by  the  state  for  early  storing  of  so  much  of  these  waters 
as   is   practical.     There   is  sufficient   incentive  now   perhaps  for  such 
storage  if  designed  for  municipal  purposes  or  mining.     If  intended  for 
irrigation,  or  to  aid  in  reclamation,  its  value  for  such  purposes,  together 
with  adoption  of  the  recommendations  of  this  report  looking  to  improved 
legislation  for  organization  and  financing  of  irrigation  and  reclamation 
districts,  should  encourage  large  increase  in  storage. 

69.  It  is  claimed  that  there  are  certain  complications  which  militate 
against  storing  of  waters  for  power  in  California,  and  as  therein  lies 
one  of  the  state's  greatest  natural  resources,  that  subject  is  taken  up  in 
more  detail. 

California's  Unused  Water  Power. 

70.  The  state  engineer  of  Oregon  reported  in  November,  1912,  that 
his  state  was  wasting  annually  $144,000,000  worth  of  "white  coal"  in 
her  unused  water  power.     That  is  to  say  if  she  would  fully  develop  that 
great  resource  it  could  be  used  in  the  manufacture  of  various  products 
and  by-products  and  for  various  purposes  calling  for  an  amount  of 
energy  which,  if  furnished  by  coal,  would  require  the  expenditure  of 
$144,000,000  annually. 

71.  California  is  even  richer  than  Oregon  in  potential  water  power, 
being  surpassed  in  that  regard  by  only  one  state — Washington.     On  the 
basis  of  figures  quoted  for  Oregon,  California's  water  power  resources, 
if  fully  developed,  would  be  worth  to  her  $168,000,000  annually.     The 
three  Pacific  coast  states  have  42  per  cent  of  all  the  available  water 
power  in  the  United  States,  which  is  said  to  be  maximum  53,905,000 
horsepower  and  minimum  27,943,000,  as  indicated  in  the  report  of  the 
Commissioner  of  Corporations,  1912. 

72.  In  comparison  with  the  potential  horsepower  in  California  (stated 
in    the   report   named   as   maximum   7,818,000   horsepower,   minimum 
3,424,000  horsepower) ,  the  state  had  on  January  1,  1916,  a  total  installed 
water  power  plant  capacity  of  579,421   horsepower,   with  subsidiary 


30  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

steam  standby  plants  of  377,145  horsepower  capacity,  as  shown  by 
data  in  the  office  of  the  district  engineer  of  the  United  States  Forest 
Service  at  San  Francisco.  There  are,  in  addition,  at  the  date  of 
this  report,  four  plants  in  course  of  construction  with  an  aggregate 
capacity  of  114,000  horsepower,  so  that  the  water  power  plants  installed 
and  in  course  of  construction  have  an  aggregate  capacity  of  one-fifth  of 
the  state's  minimum  and  one-tenth  of  her  maximum  resources  in  this 
direction. 

73.  In  the  meanwhile  the  state  is  paying  an  enormous  amount  of 
money  annually  for  coal,  which  she  must  import  at  heavy  expense;  for 
fuel  wood  from  her  forests;  for  natural  gas;  and  for  oil  from  her  oil 
fields,  all  of  which  are  used  very  largely  for  purposes  which  could  be 
accomplished  with  equal  efficiency  and  greater  convenience  by  use  of 
hydroelectric  energy.     The  amount  of  wood,  gas  and  oil  thus  used  is 
an  absolute  economic  waste  to  the  state,  since  the  supply,  particularly  of 
the  latter  two,  must  under  present  demands,  disappear  entirely  within 
a  comparatively  few  years.     The  supply  of  "white  coal"  on  the  con- 
trary, is  inexhaustible ;  the  entire  available  supply  may  be  used  this 
year,  and  next  year  there  is  as  much — or  even  more  if  the  floods  are 
greater — ready  for  use.     The  state 's  supply  of  oil  and  gas  could  thus  be 
conserved  for  uses  for  which  they  alone  will  serve. 

74.  The  proportion  which  installed  water  power  plants  in  the  United 
States  bear  to  the  maximum  potential  power  that  can  be  developed  is 
about  the  same  as  found  in  California — 6,000,000  horsepower  out  of 
54,000,000  potential.     It  is  declared  that  this  amount  could  be  raised 
with  practicable  maximum  storage  to  200,000,000.     All  the  countries 
of  Europe  combined  have  but  36,000,000  available  horsepower,  and  they 
are  rapidly  developing  this  up  to  capacity.     Germany  has  practically 
made  use  of  all  she  has.     Why  this  great  difference  between  the  two 
continents?     And  what  the  lesson  for  California? 

75.  Europe  is  economical  with  her  resources;  the  United  States  ex- 
travagant and  wasteful.     The  many  uses  to  which  water  power  and  its 
equivalent — electric  energy — can  be  put  without  diminishing  the  supply, 
and  the  saving  which  can  be  effected  thereby   in  the  use   of  other 
resources,  as  indicated  above,  furnish  sufficient  reason  to  any  student  of 
efficiency  why  Europe  should  act  as  she  has  done.     There  is,  however,  a 
greater  and  a  more  pressing  reason. 

Hydroelectric   Nitrate   Plants 

76.  The  world's  supply  of  nitrates  which  comes  now  from  Chile  will  be 
exhausted  in  a  comparatively  few  years.     Nitrates  are  used  in  peace  to 
fertilize  the  soil,  and  in  war  as  the  necessary  basis  for  all  ammunition 
and  explosives.     A  country  without  nitrates,  or  without  access  to  foreign 


STATi:    \Y.\TKR    PROBLEMS.  31 

supply,  must  degenerate  agriculturally  in  peace,  and  be  a  helpless  prey 
for  the  enemy  in  war. 

77.  The  average  yield  per  acre  in  bushels  for  various  crops  in  the 
United  States  and  in  Europe  is  given  as  follows : 


Wheat 

Oats 

Barley               Rye 

Potatoes 

Kuropo         _       _                                                32 

47 

38                30 

158 

United  States               -                              15 

29 

•>5                16 

% 

Tlie  reason  1  Europe  uses  per  acre  of  cultivated  land  200  pounds  of 
fertilizer  j  the  United  States  uses  28  pounds.  Germany,  in  twenty  years, 
by  the  use  of  fertilizer  has  increased  the  average  yield  of  all  crops  grown 
by  her  three  and  one-half  times  as  much  per  acre  as  America.  The 
German  Agricultural  Department  reports  show  that  by  feeding  the  soil 
with  2,000,000  tons  of  nitrate,  there  was  secured  an  increase  in  crops  of 
63,000,000  tons.  In  Germany  intelligent  effort  has  been  directed  to 
replace  the  nitrogenous  compounds  extracted  from  the  soil  by  crop 
growth ;  in  the  United  States  the  average  agriculturist  has  seen  his  land 
yield  steadily  decreasing  crops  without  attempting  adequate  remedy. 

78.  As  a  measure  of  preparedness  in  event  of  war  the  United  States 
has  been  attempting  to  accumulate  a  reserve  stock  of  32,500  tons  of 
Chilean  nitrate.     Her  army  and  navy  use  annually  in  peace  3,000  tons. 
The  reserve  stock  contemplated  would  make  enough  explosives  to  last 
possibly  a  week  in  a  modern  war,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  the  nation 
would  be  powerless  unless  her  navy  were  strong  enough  to  enable  her  to 
commandeer  a  supply  from  Chile,  against  the  efforts  of  her  enemy  and 
possibly  the  wishes  of  the  world.     A  cheerful  outlook  for  a  nation  whose 
foreign  relations  are  becoming  complicated ! 

79.  There  is  an  unlimited  amount  of  nitrogen  in  the  air  which  can  be 
readily  extracted  therefrom  by  hydroelectric  plants,  and  in  combination 
with  elements  of  rock  and  soil,  turned  into  the  nitrates  so  valuable  for 
fertilizers  and  explosives.     The  same  hydroelectric  energy  will  extract 
from  phosphate  rock  the  phosphoric  acid  so  necessary  also  for  fertilizer, 
and  do  it  at  less  cost  than  any  other  known  process.     Any  country 
blessed  with  great  natural  water  power  resources  can,  therefore,  by 
proper  use  of  such  resources,  make  herself  absolutely  independent  as  to 
the  necessary  supply  of  that  nitrogen  which  has  become  essential  to  the 
progress  and  life  of  every  nation.     A  horsepower  and  a  half  of  hydro- 
electric energy  will  produce  in  a  year  a  ton  of  sodium  nitrate.     The 
method  of  manufacturing  fertilizer  from  the  Chile  deposits  produces  a 
composition  of  12  per  cent  active  fertilizer  and  88  per  cent  useless 
material  on  which  freight  must  be  paid,  while  the  electrofertilizer  prod- 
uct contains  60  per  cent  of  fertilizing  material. 


32  REPORT    OP    CONFERENCE 

80.  The  United  States  is  importing  from  Chile  annually  625,000  tons 
of  nitrate,  valued  before  the  war  at  $23,000,000  (including  the  Chilean 
export  duty  of  nearly  $8,000,000),  but  now  worth  $37,500,000.     That 
entire  amount  of  nitrate  could  be  manufactured  in  California  by  utiliz- 
ing 1,000,000  horsepower  of  her  unused  water  power  resources.     Cali- 
fornia herself  is  using  about  50,000  tons  of  Chilean  nitrate  annually  at  a 
cost  before  the  war  of  nearly  $2,000,000,  increased  now  to  $3,000,000. 
She  should  be  using  many  times  as  much,  and  doubtless  in  time  will  be. 
A  75,000  horsepower  hydroelectric  plant  would  supply  what  she  now 
uses,  and  she  has  enough  reserve  water  power  to  supply  future  wants  in 
this  and  other  directions. 

81.  Germany    having   practically    utilized   her   entire    water    power 
resources  has  established  a  nitrogen  fixation  plant  in  which  the  elec- 
tricity is  generated  from  cheap  coal.     Without  her  nitrate  plants  she 
would  be  powerless  in  the  present  war.     The  great  water  power  of 
Norway  and  Sweden  is  being  taken  up  largely  by  English  capital  for 
nitrate  plants.     Similar  plants  have  been  established  in  Australia,  Italy, 
Switzerland,  France,  Spain,  Japan  and  Canada.     Nitrogen  plants  in 
Europe  represent  now  an  aggregate  investment  of  $330,000,000,  employ 
50,000  people,  and  turn  out  annually  products  and  derivatives  valued 
at  $220,000,000. 

82.  The  United  States  as  yet  has  no  nitrogen  plant,  though  the  last 
army  and  navy  bill  made  provision  for  one. 

83.  With  California's  wonderful  resources  in  water  power,  with  the 
inviting  market  thus  indicated  for  nitrates,  with  the  steadily  increasing 
demand  for  electric  energy  for  various  purposes,  with  the  opportunity 
to  save  our  supply  of  oil  for  purposes  other  than  heat  and  steam  power, 
why  is  the  development  of  water  power  in  this  state  retarded?     Obvi- 
ously such  development  must  be  made  either  by  the  United  States,  or 
by  the  state,  or  by  private  enterprise  under  terms  imposed  by  either  one 
or  both  governments.     It  seems  unwise  to  look  to  either  federal  or 
state  government  for  immediate  action  in  constructing  plants;  there  is 
left  then  only  the  alternative  of  having  them  built  by  private  capital. 
This  plan  can  not  be  followed  successfully  unless  the  conditions  are 
such  as  to  induce  capital  to  embark  in  investments  of  the  character ;  and 
it  should  not  be  followed,  in  the  judgment  of  the  conference,  unless 
public  interest  is  properly  safeguarded,  meaning  thereby  that  there 
should  not  be  granted  in  the  future,  as  have  been  granted  in  the  past, 
vested  rights  in  natural  resources  which  preclude  reasonable  control 
by  the  state  or  the  acquisition  of  plants  for  fair  compensation  whenever 
such  course  shall  appear  desirable.     California  is  concerned,  therefore, 
in  knowing  the  conditions  which  confront  her  if  she  attempts  to  turn 
to  beneficial  use  her  great  wealth  of  water  power :  first,  the  extent  to 


STATE   WATER    PROBLEMS.  33 

which  government  policy  may  aid  or  hinder  such  development;  and 
next,  the  physical  and  commercial  factors  which  add  to  or  detract  from 
its  attractiveness  for  business  investment. 

Federal  Control  of  Water  Power. 

84.  It  appears  that  the  greater  portion — perhaps  nearly  all — of  the 
available  water  power  in  California  is  subject  to  control  of  the  federal 
government,  because  in  each  case  the  canal,  or  the  generating  plant,  or 
the  transmission  line  must  be  located  either  entirely  or  partly  on  gov- 
ernment-owned land,  or  on  federal  reserve  land,  and,  therefore,  subject 
to  such  restrictions  and  regulations  as  the  United  States,  in  leasing  such 
lands  for  water  power  purposes,  may  impose.     A  large  part  of  the 
mountainous   portion   of   California   is   within   the   boundaries   of   the 
national  forest,  and  the  principal  part  of  the  unreserved  public  lands 
border  on  the  forest.     The  conference  has  not  been  able  to  learn  just 
what  proportion  of  the  available  water  power  of  the  state  is  entirely 
free  of  federal  control,  but  it  is  apparently  a  very  small  portion. 

85.  The  federal  government  does  not  own  the  water  of  the  streams, 
and,  as  an  appropriator,  can  not  theoretically  claim  or  exercise  rights 
which  are  denied  to  the  private  appropriator.     In  fact,  the  various 
water  power  bills  now  before  congress  recognize  the  superior  rights  of 
the  state  in  such  matters,  and  provide  that  the  government's  permit  to 
an  applicant  shall  be  subject  to  the  laws  of  the  state  and  to  such  regu- 
lations and  conditions  as  may  be  imposed  thereunder.     The  federal 
government  can  not  confer  by  permit  or  otherwise  rights  which  it  does 
not  possess  and  which  properly  belong  to  the  state.     On  federal  lands, 
the  government,  as  riparian  owner,  is  given,  under  the  California  law, 
certain  rights  to  the  use  of  the  waters  of  the  stream,  which  rights  can 
be  conveyed  to  others  under  lease  or  otherwise.    On  lands  which  it  does 
not  own,  whether  in  federal  reserve  or  outside  thereof,  the  federal  gov- 
ernment has  no  such  rights  in  water,  but  has,   in  effect,  frequently 
asserted  and  assumed  them  where  it  became  necessary,  in  connection 
with  a  water  power  enterprise,  for  an  applicant  to  secure  right  of  way 
for  canal  or  transmission  line  over  federal  reserve  or  government  land. 
In  such  cases,  under  present  laws,  the  conditions  exacted  are  restrictive 
Mid  at  times  prohibitive.    A  valuable  consideration  is  usually  asked  for 
the  lease,  either  in  tax  or  otherwise,  which  must  necessarily  increase  rate 
to  the  consumer;  and  this  tax,  exacted  for  new  development  in  the  West, 
is  often  used  in  the  interest  of  conservation  in  the  East,  where  lax 
policy  has  permitted  practically  all  valuable  natural  resources  to  pass 
into  private  ownership.    The  result  is  that  capital  is  not  encouraged  to 
aid  in  water  power  development  and  the  state  suffers  loss  thereby.    It  is 
understood  that  the  departments  of  the  Interior  and  of  Agriculture, 

3     26991 


34  REPORT   OP    CONFERENCE 

which  issue  these  government  leases  for  water  power  purposes,  favor 
material  modification  of  the  restrictions  referred  to. 

86.  The  control  of  these  natural  resources  thus  assumed  by  the  federal 
government  has  been  the  subject  of  adverse  criticism,  as  well  as  of 
commendation.    While  the  policy  in  effect  often  invades  the  state  right, 
the  conference  is  of  opinion  that  in  many  states,  and  in  California  up  to 
the  passage  of  the  present  Water  Commission  Act,  it  has  served  to 
safeguard  valuable  natural  resources,  which,  under  usual  lax  state  law 
and  methods  would  have  passed  permanently  into  private  ownership 
and  conferred  vested  rights  in  the  highest  degree  inimical  to  public 
interest.     Where,  however,  the  state  has  properly  safeguarded  public 
interest  in  these  matters  there  is  no  good  reason  why  she  should  not 
exercise  the  rights  to  which  she  is  properly  entitled.     One  excellent 
reason  why  she  should  then  exercise  such  rights  is  found  in  the  fact  that 
development  of  such  resources  would  progress  more  rapidly  under  wise 
state  direction  than  under  federal  control. 

87.  The  facts  with  regard  to  federal  control  of  water  power  rights 
are  as  follows :  To  establish  a  water  power  plant  on  a  navigable  stream, 
permit  must  be  first  obtained  from  the  War  Department;  for  similar 
privilege    on    a   nonnavigable    stream    on   government   land    (whether 
reserved  or  not)  permit  must  be  had  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior, 
or  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  as  the  case  may  be. 

88.  The  existing  federal  law  as  to  water  power  on  navigable  streams 
was  passed  in  1910.    Under  it  each  project  must  be  authorized  by  special 
act  of  congress.    In  view  of  possible  national  necessity  the  government 
reserves  the  right  to  force  the  grantee  at  his  own  expense  to  remove  his 
hydroelectric  plant  and  restore  the  stream  to  its  original  condition ;  and 
also  reserves  the  right  to  amend  the  act  without  liability  to  grantees  who 
have  installed  plants. 

89.  The  law  as  to  use  of  public  lands  for  water  power  purposes  was 
passed  in  1901.     It  authorizes  the  secretaries  of  the  Interior  and  of 
Agriculture  to  permit  such  use,  under  general  regulations  to  be  fixed 
by  them.    Any  permit  so  given  may  be  revoked. 

90.  Bills  are  now  before  congress  to  change  the  present  government 
policies  in  regard  to  water  power  installation.    In  regard  to  installation 
on  navigable  streams,  the  Shields  Bill,  passed  by  the  senate,  provides 
general  conditions  under  which  permits  may  issue,  and  gives  the  Secre- 
tary of  War  discretion  in  passing  upon  them.     The  bill  contains  a 
proviso  that  before  the  permit  is  issued  by  the  Secretary  of  War  the 
permittee  must  first  obtain,  in  such  manner  as  may  be  required,  the 
consent  of  the  state  or  states  in  which  the  dam  or  other  structure  for  the 
development  of  the  water  power  is  proposed  to  be  constructed.     This 


STATE   WATER   PROBLEMS.  35 

bill  has  been  severely  attacked  as  not  sufficiently  guarding  public  interest 
in  many  of  its  provisions. 

91.  The  House  Committee  declined  to  accept  the  Shields  Bill  and 
substituted  therefor  the  Adamson  Bill,  which  places  more  restrictions 
upon  the  permittee  and  compels  him  also  in  each  case  to  secure  approval 
of  congress,  as  is  the  present  law. 

92.  In  regard  to  plants  on  government  lands  on  nonnavigable  streams 
the  Ferris  Bill,  passed  by  the  house,  is  similar  to  the  Adamson  Bill  in 
that  it  compels  each  permittee  to  come  before  congress,  while  the  present 
law  does  not.     The  Senate  Committee  refused  to  accept  the  Ferris  Bill 
and  substituted  the  Myers  Bill,  which  provides  general  conditions  and 
compels  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  to  grant  the  application  if  the  law 
lias  been  complied  with.    Both  the  Ferris  and  the  Myers  bills  specifically 
provide  that  nothing  in  the  act  shall  be  construed  as  affecting  or  inter- 
fering with  the  laws  of  any  state  relating  to  the  control,  appropriation, 
use  or  distribution  of  water. 

93.  The  existing  federal  law  as  to  water  power  on  navigable  streams, 
and  the  Shields  and  Adamson  bills,  have  little  practical  interest  for 
California,  since  the  power  exercised  by  the  War  Department  in  con- 
nection   therewith    has    been    apparently    confined    to    plants    on    the 
navigable  portions  of  the  streams;  and  there  is  in  California  no  avail- 
able power  location  so  situated,  the  navigable  portions  of  our  rivers  being 
on  the  floor  of  the  valleys.     The  state  has,  however,  greatest  interest  in 
the  present  law  of  1901,  placing  in  the  hands  of  the  departments  of  the 
Interior  and  of  Agriculture  control  of  power  plants,  when  situated  on 
government-owned  or  reserve  land,  or  when  compelled  to  place  trans- 
mission lines  or  canals  thereon ;  and  in  the  Myers  and  Ferris  bills,  which 
deal  with  this  phase  of  the  matter. 

California's  Water  Power  Laws. 

94.  The  water  laws  of  California^  prior  to  1911,  were  too  loosely 
drawn  and  permitted  the  acquirement  by  private  parties  of  vested  rights 
adverse  to  the  public  interest.    The  present  law  embodied  in  the  Water 
Commission  Act  of  1915  seeks  to  remedy  that  fault,  while  at  the  same 
time  offering  conditions  sufficiently  liberal  to  encourage  investment  of 
capital  in  water  power  enterprises.     It  provides  that  the  Water  Com- 
mission shall  grant  indeterminate  licenses  to  applicants  upon  compliance 
with  certain  specific  requirements ;  that  these  permits  shall  not  be  revo- 
cable save  for  nonuse  or  failure  to  comply  with  the  conditions  thereof; 
that  the  state  shall  have  the  right  to  take  over  the  property  at  any  time 
after  twenty  years  upon  payment  of  just  compensation  therefor,  to  be 
( sf;il)lished  under  the  law  of  eminent  domain;  and  that  in  determining 
such  compensation,  or  the  value  of  the  property  as  a  basis  for  establishing 


,'J6  REPORT   OP    CONFERENCE 

rates  to  be  charged  the  public,  no  allowance  shall  be  made  for  the  water 
right  beyond  such  amount  as  may  have  been  paid  the  state  therefor. 
The  State  Water  Commission  believes  that  these  provisions,  while  fair 
to  the  permittee,  substantially  safeguard  public  interest  and  justify 
granting  to  private  capital  the  opportunity  of  developing  these  water 
power  resources.  In  that  conclusion  this  conference  generally  concurs. 
It  suggests,  however,  that  the  limitation  of  twenty  years,  before  which 
time  the  state  may  not  acquire  the  property,  should  be  removed,  since 
the  facts  contained  in  this  chapter  will  readily  suggest  contingencies 
under  which  the  possession  of  the  property  would  become  of  vital  neces- 
sity for  state  and  nation.  In  fact,  it  may  not  have  been  the  intent  of 
the  legislature  to  prevent  the  state  taking  the  property  until  after- 
twenty  years,  though  section  20  of  the  act  is  certainly  .open  to  that 
construction. 

95.  The  state  law,  however  favorable,  can  not  induce  installation  of 
new  water  plants,  if,  because  of  their  location,  they  must  be  dependent 
on  a  federal  permit  or  lease,  the  terms  of  which  are  unnecessarily  onerous 
and  restrictive.     A  minor  difficulty,  too,  exists  in  the  fact  that  in  this 
state  there  is  a  threefold,  sometimes  a  fourfold,  control  of  power  plants, 
participated  in  by  congress,  by  the  departments,  by  the  State  Railroad 
Commission  and  by  the   State  AVater   Commission,   and  necessitating 
approval  of  the  application  by  all  under  different  regulations.     It  is 
probable  that  the  unsettled  condition  of  public  control  over  public  utili- 
ties has  only  less  to  do  with  curtailment  of  water  power  development 
than  the  actual  restrictive  conditions  mentioned. 

California  Market  for  Hydroelectric  Power. 

96.  Among  the   physical   conditions   and  commercial   considerations 
which  influence  more  or  less  the  attitude  of  capital  towards  investment 
in  water  power  installation  in  this  state,  the  following  are  noteworthy : 
The  development   of  the  turbine  principle  and  the  invention  of  the 
Diessel  engine  have  so  far  increased  the  efficiency  of  the  steam  engine 
that  it  can  now  develop  from  a  ton  of  coal,  or  a  drum  of  oil,  about 
twice  as  much  power  as  it  did  several  years  ago.     And  a  hydroelectric 
power  plant,  to  compete  with  steam  for  ordinary  purposes,  must  be 
able  to  make  a  favorable  comparison,  as  to  cost  of  installation,  opera- 
tion and  maintenance,   per  horsepower,  between   its  plant,   including 
transmission  lines,  and  the  steam  plant  which  can  be  located  at  the 
point  of  application  of  power.     While  this  condition  has  undoubtedly 
had   its   effect   in   retarding   recent   power   development,   the   steadily 
increasing  price  of  oil  is  doing  much  to  offset  the  apparent  gain  thus 
made  by  steam  plants. 


STATK    WATER    PROBLEMS.  37 

97.  It  is  claimed  that  there  is  an  overdevelopment  of  hydroelectric 
power  for  ordinary  purposas  in  California,  and  that  the  real  demand 
i.«  for  more  markets  rather  than  for  more  power.    This  is  the  statement 
made  in  the  forest  service  report  to  the  United  States  Senate,  dated 
January  20,  1916,  in  the  following  language: 

There  is  also  at  the  present  time  a  considerable  overdevelopment 
in  nearly  all  the  power  centers  of  the  Western  States.  California, 
Oregon  and  Washington  in  particular,  show  installation  far  in 
excess  of  maximum  demand. 

98.  The  statistics  indicate  that  the  use  of  electricity  per  capita  in 
California  exceeds  that  of  any  other  state  and  that  the  purposes  for 
which  it  is  used  are  more  varied,  while  the  average  rate  charged  per 
kilowatt  hour  for  all  purposes  is  less.     These  statistics,  properly  con- 
sidered, however,  furnish  no  proof  either  that  California  is  using  all 
the  electric  energy  that  she  can,  or  that  it  can  not  be  furnished  her 
at  a  still  lower  rate.     Electricity  in  most  of  the  Eastern  centers  is 
produced   by   steam    plants    and   is   correspondingly   expensive.      For 
illumination,  it  is  frequently  a  luxury  as  compared  with  gas. 

99.  That  there  is  not  now  unsupplied  market  for  electric  energy  in 
certain  sections  of  the  state  is  evidently  the  view  of  the  State  Railroad 
Commission   since  it  has  refused  to  permit  certain  new  power  com- 
panies to  go  into  business  because  the  proposed  territory  is  already 
satisfactorily  served  by  existing  companies. 

100.  This  policy  of  the  Railroad  Commission  is  fraught  with  one 
apparent   disadvantage.      Service   rates   are   everywhere   fixed   by   the 
Railroad  Commission  necessarily  on  the  basis  of  cost  of  service  to  the 
company;  and  cost  of  installation  and  operation  of  plants,  put  in  a 
number   of   years   ago,   involves,   in   instances,   an   amount   greatly   in 
excess  of  that  which  would  cover  the  cost  of  a  modern  plant  using  the 
same  source  of  supply,  or  a  plant  serving  the  same  territory  from  a. 
different  source  of  supply.     While  the  old  plant  of  the  established 
company  may  have  been  displaced  in  large  part  by  a  modern  one,  its 
cost  is  still  represented  by  bonds  and  stock  on  which  interest  is  allowed 
l,y  the  commission,  and  paid  in  rates  by  the  consumer.     Theoretically 
the    public   should   have    the   advantage   in    rates   justified   by   latest 
methods  and  improved  machinery.     Undoubtedly  the  rates  are  in  a 
number   of   cases   considerably   in    excess   of   the   rates   which   would 
return  fair  profit  on  a  modern  plant ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  they  may 
not  be  higher  than  the  rates  which  the  consumer  would  ultimately  pay 
if  a  competing  company  came  into  the  field  and  in  time  absorbed,  or 
was  absorbed  by  the  old  company.    This  probably  is  the  reason  for  the 
commission's  action. 


38  REPORT   OF    CONFERENCE 

101.  The  transmission  line  map  of  California  indicates  that  the  popu- 
lated centers  of  the  state  are  already  well  covered  for  light  and  power 
purposes.    There  is  apparent  evidence  in  this  fact  of  a  lack  of  market 
for  electric  energy  for  the  ordinary  purposes  of  light  and  power  in  the 
settled  communities  sufficient  to  justify  immediate  development  of  new 
large  water  power  plants,  though  there  are  undoubtedly  sections  where 
there  is  an  unsupplied  demand  for  both  light  and  power.    But  it  is  not 
improbable  that,  even  for  these  purposes,  and  in  the  communities  now 
apparently  well  supplied,  the  application  of  methods  which  increase 
markets  in  ordinary  merchandising  would  create  increased  demand  for 
electric  energy.    For  instance,  in  certain  districts  of  the  state  and  from 
certain  companies  reasonable  rates  can  not  be  had  for  power  unless  it 
is  paid  for  throughout  the  year,  whether  used  or  not.    In  consequence, 
the  farmer  who  needs  power  for  a  few  months  for  irrigation,  or  the 
reclamation  district  that  pumps  drainage  waters  during  the  flood  season 
may  find  it  cheaper  to  use  a  gasoline  engine  for  that  short  time  than  to 
pay  for  unused  current  during  eight  or  nine  months  of  the  year.    This 
plan  of  annual  charge  is  justified  by  the  service  companies  on  the  plea 
that  interest   on  investment   in   transmission  lines,   transformers   and 
meters  can  not  be  met  otherwise.     There  may  be  found  in  time  some 
practicable  way  of  supplying  the  agriculturist  with  power  and  charging 
him  only  for  the  amount  used  at  a  fair  rate.     The  plan  that  suggests 
itself  is  to  find,  if  possible,  a  market  for  the  current  during  the  time 
when  he  can  not  use  it. 

102.  Again,  there  is  no  state  standard  for  either  light  or  power,  and 
it  not  infrequently  happens  in  some  localities  that  the  consumer  is 
given  poor  light  because  the  company  finds  it  economical  at  times  to 
distribute   among   regular   consumers   half   the   current   which   would 
furnish  all  with  a  sixteen  candlepower  light.     Light  and  power  conir 
panics  should  be  required  by  the  state,  to  furnish  for  the  rates  charged 
a  recognized  standard  in  quantity  and  quality,  as  is  required  of  the 
grocer  and  the  butcher.     It  is  not  at  all  improbable  that  improvement 
in  quality  of  the  service  rendered  and  a  decrease  in  price,  if  justified 
by  increased  consumption,  or  other  conditions,  would  lead  to  a  very 
much  greater  use  of  the  hydroelectric  current  in  California,   and  a 
corresponding  conservation  of  coal,  gasoline  and  oil. 

103.  Entirely  aside  from  the  foregoing  suggestions,  which  look  to  the 
possible  enlarging  of  the  local  market  for  hydroelectric  energy  for  the 
ordinary  purposes  of  light  and  power,   it  appears  to  the  conference 
that  there  are  other  and  greater  uses  for  such  energy,  which  can  be 
profitably  developed  to  the  benefit  of  the  state  and  nation  and  without 
injury  to  the  business  of  the  existing  public  service  companies;  and 


STATK    WATKR    PROBLEMS.  39 

that  the  conditions  in  this  regard  warrant  the  most  careful  investiga- 
tion by  the  state  and  the  encouragement  in  every  reasonable  way  of 
further  water  power  installation. 

104.  The  ordinary  uses  for  hydroelectric  energy  with  which   Cali- 
fornia is  familiar  give  only  a  meager  idea  of  the  possible  economic 
value  of  the  state's  great  water  power  and  the  part  it  will  play  in  her 
future  commercial  greatness.     In  addition  to  the  value  of  water  power 
plants  for  the  fixation  of  nitrogen  and  the  extraction  of  phosphoric 
acid  from  phosphate  rock  and  the  securing  thereby  of  an  unlimited 
amount  of  basic  elements  needed  for  fertilizers  and  explosives,  they 
give  us  now  the  electric  furnace,  which  is  commencing  to  replace  coke 
and  coal  and  gas  and  oil  in  the  making  and  refining  of  iron  and  steel. 
The  production  of  electric  steel  in  this  country  has  trebled  in  eighteen 
months  and  is  practically  as  large  now  as  that  of  crucible  steel.     The 
manufacture   of  electrochemicals   is  increasing  by   leaps  and  bounds. 
At  Niagara  Falls  products  of  this  character  are  marketed  annually 
to  the  value   of  $18,450,000,   including  abrasives,   electrodes,   calcium 
carbide    (used   in    the   manufacture   of   acetylene   gas),   caustic   soda, 
chlorates    and   such    metals   and    alloys    as   aluminum,   silicon,    ferro- 
vanadium,  etc. 

105.  The  possibilities  of  hydroelectric  energy  in  these  and  other  lines 
are  so  great  that  it  is  predicted  that  in  the  not  far  distant  future  the 
great  industrial   centers  of  the  world  will  be  found,  not  necessarily 
where  there  is  coal  and  iron,  but  where  there  is,  in  addition  to  iron, 
or  near  enough  to  secure  supplies  thereof,  the  cheap  electricity  which 
can  do  such  wonderful  things  in  analytic  and  synthetic  treatment  of 
the  substances  of  nature.     These  views  assume  a  coming  commercial 
revolution  which  should  place  the  three  Pacific  coast  states  in  the  fore- 
ground of  industrial  progress  if  their  wonderful  water  power  resources 
are  properly  handled. 

106.  It  is  claimed  that  plants  for  the  fixation  of  nitrogen  and  manu- 
facture of  electrochemical  products  can  not  be  operated  as  economically 
in  California  as  in  a  few  other  states,  because  of  the  difference  in 
climatic  and  other  conditions.     The  cheapest  hydroelectric  energy  can 
be  produced  where  there  is  great  water  power  in  one  unit,  flowing 
continuously  through  the  year.     The  lack  of  rain  throughout  summer 
and  fall  seasons  in  California  makes  it  necessary  to  resort  to  storage 
to  operate  all  power  plants  during  those  seasons,  and  large  plants  can 
be  secured  not  by  continuous  stream  flow  at  one  point,  but  by  assem- 
bling energy  accumulated  at  several  points,  or  by  producing  it  from 
storage  water.     These  methods  involve  extra  expense  which,  it  is  said, 


40  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

would  place  this  state  at  a  disadvantage  in  producing  nitrates  in  com- 
petition with  a  few  plants  in  the  United  States  until  such  time  as  the 
market  would  demand  more  than  the  entire  output  of  such  plants. 

107.  There  is  an  apparent  disadvantage  in  this  situation  for  Cali- 
fornia which  would  have   to  be   weighed   in   conjunction   with   other 
conditions,    advantageous    and   otherwise.      The    facts    quoted   in   this 
chapter,  however,  suggest  the  thought  that  the  day  may  not  be  far 
distant  when  hydroelectric  energy,  for  the  life  of  the  nation  in  peace 
and  in  war,  may  be  worth — like  water  for  irrigation — all  it  may  cost. 
Germany,  for  instance,  even  before  the  present  war,  having  utilized 
all  her  available  water  power,  installed  a  plant  for  fixation  of  nitrogen, 
in  which  the  electric  energy  was  produced  by  steam  from  the  burniri'g 
of  cheap  coal.     California,  even  if  her  hydroelectric  power  is  on  the 
average  more  expensive  to  produce  than  in  a  few  large  plants  in  the 
United   States,   would   appear   to   have   a   local   market   for   fertilizer 
(which  she  can  certainly  produce  at  less  than  she  is  now  paying  Chile 
therefor) ,  and  the  possibility  of  market  for  electrochemical  products. 

108.  Whether  the  conditions  above  outlined  warrant  the  investment 
of  private  capital  in  power  plants  in  California  at  this  time  or  not,  it 
would  appear  well  to  have  such  representations  made  to  congress  on 
behalf  of  California  as  will  secure   changes   in  the  present  national 
policy  in  connection  with  control  of  water  power:  first  as  to  onerous 
and   prohibitive   conditions  unnecessarily   imposed  on  private   capital 
which   should  be   encouraged   to   assist,   under  proper  safeguards,   in 
developing  these  great  natural  resources ;  and  second,  as  to  conditions 
and   restrictions    amounting   practically    to    invasion   of   state    rights, 
excusable  perhaps  in  interests  of  conservation  where  state  laws  are  lax, 
but  unnecessary  and  injurious  under  existing  conditions  in  California. 
The  Water  Commission  might  be  authorized  to  present  this  matter  to 
congress   and  to  the  departments  concerned,   and  secure,  if  possible, 
their  endorsement  for  such  a  change  of  policy  as  is  herein  suggested. 

109.  But  wrhether  investment  in  hydroelectric  plants  can  be  made 
attractive  to  private  capital  or  not,  it  is  manifestly  of  advantage  and 
even  necessity  to  the  state,  both  in  the  interest  of  conservation  and  as 
a  means  of  state  progress  and  national  defense,  that  resources  of  this 
nature  should  be  utilized  to  the  fullest  extent  practicable,  and  as  soon 
as  possible. 

Preliminary  Promotion  of  Water  Conservation. 

110.  In  view  of  the  great  importance  to  the  state  of  an  adequate 
system   of   conservation   of  her   water   resources,   and  because   of   the 
absence  of  necessary  data  upon  which  comprehensive  plans  for  develop- 
ment of  such  resources  can  be  based,  the  conference  recommends  that 
provision  be  made  at  once  for  a  report  from  the  State  Engineering 


STATE   WATER    PROBLEMS.  41 

Department  as  to  available  sites  for  reservoirs  for  storage  of  flood  and 
other  waters,  the  extent  to  which  the  waters  stored  therein  may  be  used 
for  irrigation,  power,  and  municipal  purposes,  the  lands  and  com- 
munities which  could  be  served  thereby,  and  estimates  as  to  cost  of  con- 
struction and  maintenance  of  the  necessary  works. 

111.  The  conference  recommends  also  the  adoption  of  a  general  state 
policy  looking  to  aiding,  under  proper  restriction,  conservation  projects 
which  will  have  a  direct  bearing  on  the  development  of  the  commerce, 
wealth  and  population  of  the  state,  prominent  among  which  are  projects 
for  the  storage  and  beneficial  use  of  water.     The  necessity  for  such  aid 
and  practical  methods  for  extending  it,  some  legislative  and  some  finan- 
cial, are  discussed  in  the  various  chapters  of  this  report  and  particularly 
in  the  following: 

V.  Flood  Problems  of  California. 

VI.  Riparian  Rights. 

VII.  Irrigation. 

IX.  Reclamation. 

X.  Inland  Waterways. 

XVII.  State  Aid  in  Interest  of  Conservation. 

State  Control  of  Dams. 

112.  The  magnitude  of  the  reservoirs  necessary  in  instances  to  store 
the  waters  of  California  for  beneficial  use,  creates  a  possible  danger  and 
suggests  the  propriety,  in  the  interest  of  safety,  of  state  supervision 
over  the  plans,  construction,  operation  and  maintenance  of  all  such 
reservoirs  and  their  dams. 

113.  The  Otay  disaster  at  San  Diego  is  a  case  in  point,  wherein  a  dam, 
because  of  faulty  structural  plans  and  methods,  went  out  with  the  first 
full  head  of  water  behind  it  and  spread  death  and  destruction  for  miles 
below. 

114.  The  Big  Meadows  reservoir,  on  a  fork  of  the  Feather  River,  has 
a  present  capacity  of  500,000  acre  feet  and  a  possibility  of  increasing 
that  capacity  to  1,000,000  acre  feet.     Even  its  present  capacity  is  equal 
to  a  run  of  250,000  second  feet  continuously  for  24  hours.     If  then  the 
dam  should  so  break  as  to  permit  emptying  of  the  reservoir  in  12  hours 
the  resultant  flood  would  amount  to  500,000  second  feet ;  if  the  reservoir 
were  emptied  in  six  hours  the  flood  would  be  1,000,000  second  feet. 
Such  a  flood  would  overwhelm  the  reclamation  districts  and  cities  along 
the  Sacramento  River.     It  is  not  intended  thereby  to  convey  the  impres- 
sion that  the  Big  Meadows  dam  is  at  all  unsafe,  but  only  to  point  out 
the  disaster  that  might  result  if  it  were  not  safe. 


j 


42  REPORT    OP    CONFERENCE 

115.  The  Pine  Flat  project  contemplates  a  reservoir  of  600,000  acre 
feet  on  Kings  River,  and  the  flood  of  water  in  event  of  disaster  would 
sweep  down  the  San  Joaquin  Valley. 

116.  Dams  and  reservoirs  of  this  character  can  be  so  constructed  as 
to  be  entirely  safe;  but  it  would  appear  to  be  the  duty  of  the  state  to 
make  it  certain  that  they  are  so  constructed  and  so  maintained  as  to 
insure   safety.     Otherwise,   ignorance   or  neglect   on   the   part   of   the 
owners,  or  incompetency  or  dishonesty  in  the  contractors,  may  induce 
conditions  which  will  cause  destruction  of  property  and  death  of  those 
who  have  no  means  of  protecting  themselves  against  such  disaster. 

117.  The   conference   recommends   that   the   necessary   authority   be 
reposed  in  the  proposed  State  Flood  Control  Board  to  approve  plans 
for  all  such  dams  and  reservoirs,  to  supervise  their  construction  and  to 
exercise  such  control  over  their  maintenance  and  operation  as  may  be 
necessary  in  the  interest  of  public  safety.     The  conference  recomrrfends 
also  that  such  board  be  directed  to  make  careful  investigation  of  the 
works  of  any  such  reservoirs  already  built,  with  authority  to  prevent  the 
use  thereof  unless  they  can  be  operated  with  entire  safety.     For  pur- 
poses of  the  investigations  suggested  of  new  and  old  projects  of  this 
character,  there  should  be  appropriation  sufficient  to  retain  the  services 
of  engineers  of  experience  and  authority  in  such  matters.     The  law,  too, 
should  impose  penalties  of  imprisonment,  rather  than  of  fine,  on  those 
who  deliberately  or  carelessly  evade  the  law's  intent  and  thereby  create 
conditions  which  may  endanger  the  integrity  of  the  reservoir,  and  lead 
to  disaster. 

118.  Chapter  491  of  the  California  laws  of  1915,  amending  section  637 
of  the  Penal  Code,  approved  May  24,  1915,  provides  in  part  that  there 
shall  not  be  diverted  from  any  stream  above  a  dam  or  artificial  obstruc- 
tion, water  which  may  be  necessary  for  fish  life  below  such  obstruction. 
It  is  the  judgment  of  the  conference  that  this  provision  of  such  act 
should  be  repealed,  or  so  amended  as  not  to  offer  any  obstruction  to 
the  use  of  such  water  for  beneficial  use  superior  to  the  support  of  fish 
life. 


STATE    WATER    PROBLEMS.  4-3 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  Flood  Problems  of  California. 

119.  California  faces  several  great  flood  control  problems  (only  one 
of  which  so  far  has  been  definitely  solved  and  has  progressed  into  a 
project  in  process  of  completion)  and  a  number  of  smaller  ones.     No 
other  state  has  so  many  or  such  weighty  problems  of  this  character. 
Fortunately,  in  all  cases  but  one  they  are  intrastate,  and  the  opportunity 
is  offered  California  to  work  them  out  if  she  will  take  the  necessary 
steps. 

Colorado    River   Floods. 

120.  The  Colorado  River  offers  the  most  complicated  of  these  prob- 
lems, not  so  much  because  of  the  physical  features  as  because  of  inter- 
state and  international  complications.     The  states  of  Colorado,  Arizona, 
Utah,  Wyoming  and  Nevada,  as  well  as  California,  have  interests  in  the 
stream;  and  Mexico  has  also,  for  it  forms  the  international  boundary 
between  Arizona  and  Lower  California,  before  it  empties  into  the  Gulf 
of  California,  eighty  miles  south.     Until  an  adjustment  is  reached  with 
the  states  named,  no  diversion  for  a  beneficial  use  can  be  made  by  Cali- 
fornia with  any  certainty  of  permanently  continuing  such  diversion; 
and  Mexico  declines  to  allow,  without  her  consent,  any  diversion  or  use 
of  the  waters  by  California,  on  the  ground  that  her  treaty  rights  would 
be  violated  thereby. 

121.  The  interests  of  California  in  the  Colorado  are  varied.     It  is 
a  source  of  danger,  through  overflow  on  American  soil,  in  the  stretch 
just  below  the  Laguna  dam,  fourteen  miles  above  Yuma.     Above  the 
dam  for  many  miles  it  is  confined  within  a  narrow  canyon.     It  is  a 
source  of  greater  danger  to  California  through  overflow  on  Mexican  soil, 
threatening  the  Imperial  Valley  and  the  Salton  Sink  country.     An 
inundation  of  this  character  in  1905  covered  445  square  miles  of  the 
Salton  Sink  with  water  which  is  gradually  receding  through  evapora- 
tion.    The  Southern  Pacific  Company  spent  over  $1,000,000  in  repairing 
this  break  and  confining  the  river  again. 

122.  The  Colorado  River  may  be  of  material  benefit  to  California 
because  it  offers  the  only  source  of  supply  for  irrigation  of  the  rich 
Imperial  Valley,  the  water  for  which,  while  diverted  on  American  soil, 
is  carried  in  canal  through  many  miles  of  Mexican  territory  before  it 
can  be  delivered  to  the  valley.     A  great  portion  of  the  benefit  to  be  had 
by  California,  as  well  as  the  menace  threatened,  therefore,  necessitates 
the  expenditure  of  American  capital  on  Mexican  soil,  subject  to  such 
conditions  as  Mexico  may  impose.     Certain  lands  in  California  under 
the  Laguna  Dam  are  also  receiving  water  from  the  Colorado;  and,  if 


44  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

the  necessary  diversion  would  be  permitted,  several  hundred  thousand 
acres  of  land  in  San  Bernardino,  San  Diego  and  Riverside  counties, 
which  have  no  other  available  source  of  water  supply,  could  be  irrigated 
from  the  Colorado.  (See  "Flood  Control  and  Reclamation  in  Cali- 
fornia," issued  by  State  Reclamation  Board,  pp.  3  and  4.) 

123.  The  Mexican  Commissioner  of  Public  Works  on  the  Colorado 
River,  who  was  in  office  at  the  time  the  recent  revolutions  broke  out, 
Fernando  Beltran  y  Puga,  takes  the  position  that  Mexico  is  entitled  to 
one-half  of  the  waters  of  the  Colorado  passing  Yuma,  and  that  unless 
this  be  conceded  she  should  fall  back  on  her  treaty  rights,  according  to 
which,  he  claims,  the  United  States  has  not  the  right  to  make  any  diver- 
sions from  the  stream  without  Mexico's  consent. 

124.  This  claim  is  probably  founded  on  certain  provisions  of  the 
treaties  of  1884  and  1889  which  recognize  the  center  line  of  the  Colorado 
River,    (regardless  of  any  changes  due  to  natural  causes,  which  may 
occur   in   the   location   thereof,)    as   the   international   boundary   line 
between   Arizona   and   Lower   California.     These   provisions   recognize 
the  right  of  either  nation  to  object  to  construction,  dredging  or  other 
work  which  might  tend  to  deflect  the  current  or  induce  deposits,  and 
produce  a  change  in  course  of  the  stream.     It  is  understood  that  the 
claim  is  made  that  diversions  above,  by  reducing  the  volume  of  flow, 
might  easily  induce  a  change  of  channel  in  that  section  of  the  river 
forming  part  of  the  international  boundary. 

125.  It  is  understood  that  Mexico,  by  act  of  congress  and  ministerial 
decree,  has  approved  of  diversion  of  waters  from  the  Colorado  River, 
either  in  Mexico  or  in  California,  and  subsequently  passing  through 
Mexican  territory,  provided  that  she  receive  50  per  cent  of  the  amounts 
so  diverted  at  the  minimum  price  for  which  the  water  is  ever  sold. 
This  position   as  to   division  of  the   water  has   never   been   accepted 
officially  by  the  United  States,   but  was  accepted  by  the   California 
Development  Company  which  then  controlled  the  Imperial  and  Mexican 
canal  systems. 

126.  The  United  States  War  Department,  in  1910,  decided  that  the 
treaties  then  in  force  and  conditions  existing  prevented  it  issuing  a 
permit  for  the  construction  of  a  dam  and  diversion  of  waters  of  the 
Colorado  River ;  but  a  permit  for  construction  of  a  certain  type  of  dam 
was  issued  recently,  although  there  had  been  no  change  in  the  conditions 
since  1910. 

127.  While  navigation  of  the  Colorado  River  has  practically  ceased, 
congress,    because    of    the    interstate    and   international    complications 
referred  to,  makes  frequent  appropriations  in  the  Rivers  and  Harbors 
Bill  for  levee  work  and  other  means  of  controlling  the  floods  on  this 
river. 


STATK    WATER    PROBLEMS.  45 

128.  The   above   statement   of   conditions   sufficiently    indicates    the 
necessity  for  an  adjustment  of  the  conflicting  state  and  national  inter- 
ests in  this  stream  before  a  comprehensive  plan  can  be  adopted  for  its 
permanent  flood  control  and  for  turning  to  highest  beneficial  use  the 
great  volume   of   water  now   largely   wasted.     It  is  elsewhere   recom- 
mended that  it  be  made  one  of  the  duties  of  the  proposed  State  Flood 
Control  Board  to  promote  early  adjustment  of  these  interests  and  adop- 
tion of  a  state  policy  in  connection  with  the  control  and  use  of  these 
waters. 

The    Los   Angeles   Flood   Problem. 

129.  The  Los  Angeles  floods  present  a  very  serious  engineering  prob- 
lem.    The  Los  Angeles  River  is  dry  in  summer,  but  in  winter  and 
spring  carries  torrential  floods,  sweeping  away  acres  of  orchards  and 
depositing  masses  of  silt  in  the  harbor  of  Los  Angeles.     The  maximum 
discharge  of  the  stream  is  given  as  31,140  second  feet,  but  the  damage 
done  is  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  amount  of  discharge  because  the 
area   drained  is  comparatively  small — 534  square  miles — and  because 
the  mountains  are  so  close  to  the  sea  as  to  give  high  velocity  to  the 
waters.     The  damage   done  by  the  floods  of  this  river  and  the  San 
Gabriel  and  their  tributaries  in  1914  is  estimated  at  $10,000,000  and  in 
1!)  16  at  $4,000,000. 

130.  The  Los  Angeles  County  Flood   Control   Board,   composed  of 
experienced  engineers,  has  made  a  survey  and  report  dealing  with  the 
problem  and  suggesting  a  plan  for  remedy.     The  plan  proposed  is  to 
store  as  much  of  the  floods  as  practicable  in  reservoirs ;  to  hold  back  and 
retard  the  flow  in  the  smaller  canyons  through  check  and  saturation 
dams,  which  will  also  arrest  the  movement  of  debris  ordinarily  carried 
down  and  deposited  in  the  main  stream  channels ;  to  spread  some  over 
gravel  beds  where  the  streams  debouch  from  the  mountains,  whence  it 
will  be  conveyed  by  percolation  through  underground  channels  to  the 
valleys  below  and  there  raise  the  water  table  and  be  available   for 
pumping;  and  to  dispose  of  what  can  not  be  cared  for  in  any  of  these 
ways  by  diversion  to  the  San  Gabriel  River  and  thence  to  the  ocean 
where  it  will  not  injure  a  valuable  harbor.     The  engineers  have  not 
agreed  upon  all  the  details  nor  can  it  be  determined  without  further 
investigation  just  what  part  each  of  the  remedial  measures  suggested 
may  play. 

131.  The  original  plan  for  financing  the  project,  as  outlined  in  the 
bill  introduced  in  the  legislature  of  1915,  contemplated  the  assessment 
of  a  portion  of  the  expense  to  lands  benefited.     This  bill  was  withdrawn, 
however,  and  another  substituted  which  provided  for  a  bond  issue  by 
Los  Angeles  County  organized  as  a  reclamation  district.     It  is  under- 


46  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

stood  that  another  measure  is  in  course  of  preparation  for  consideration 
by  the  coming  legislature. 

132.  Congress,  in  the  Rivers  and  Harbors  Bill  of  1916,  provided  for 
assistance  to  this  project,  or  more  correctly,  to  that  portion  of  it  which 
called  for  diversion  of  the  Los  Angeles  River  so  as  to  prevent  the 
deposit  of  silt  in  the  harbor  of  Los  Angeles.     An  appropriation  of 
$500,000  was  made  for  construction  of  a  diverting  dam,  conditional 
that  all  expense  other  than  that  involved  in  actual  construction  of  the 
diverting  works  shall  be  paid  by  the  city  or  county  of  Los  Angeles,  or 
other  interest. 

133.  The  Los  Angeles  and  San  Gabriel  rivers  are  typical  of  a  number 
of  coastal  streams,  among  which  may  be  named  the  Santa  Ana,  San 
Luis  Rey,  San  Diego,  Santa  Clara,  Santa  Ynez  and  Salinas  rivers,  along 
all  of  which  there  is  a  large  amount  of  flood  damage. 

134.  The   seriousness   of   the    existing   situation    adds   force   to   the 
recommendation  of  the  conference  as  to  creation  of  a  state  authority  to 
assist  in  planning  and  carrying  to  completion  projects  necessary  for  the 
safety  and  prosperity  of  individual  sections  of  the  state. 

The  San  Joaquin  Valley  Flood  Problems. 

135.  Flood  control  of  the  San  Joaquin  River  and  its  tributaries  is 
placed  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  State  Reclamation  Board  by  the 
Reclamation  Board  Act,  the  reason  doubtless  being  that  the  San  Joa- 
quin and  the  Sacramento  rivers  to  a  certain  extent  must  be  handled 
together  for  flood  control  purposes,  because  of  the  way  in  which  their 
waters  mingle  in  a  common  delta  and  the  menace  which  the  debris- 
laden  floods  of  the  Sacramento  offer  to  the  lower  San  Joaquin.     Some 
of  the  problems  in  connection  with  the  San  Joaquin  are  referred  to  in 
Chapter  XII,  ' '  Storage  for  Flood  Control. ' '     ( Sec.  258. ) 

136.  There  is,  as  yet,  no  comprehensive  plan  for  flood  control  in  the 
San  Joaquin  Valley.     Such  a  plan,  however,  will  be  developed  prob- 
ably during  the  coming  year,  for  the  surveys  which  must  form  the 
basis  for  any  plan  are  now  practically  completed  and  data  therefrom 
are  being  worked  up  in  the  office  of  the  State  Reclamation  Board. 
These  surveys  were  undertaken   jointly  by  the  nation,   through  the 
California  Debris  Commission,  composed  of  United  States  army  engi- 
neers, and  the  state,  through  the  State  Engineering  Department.     Plans 
will  be  prepared  by  the  Debris  Commission,  as  was  done  in  the  case  of 
the  Sacramento  River,  submitted  to  the  Board  of  Engineers  for  Rivers 
and  Harbors  at  Washington  and,  if  approved,  recommended  to  con- 
gress.    If  approved  by  congress  they  can  be  adopted  by  the  state,  as 
was  done  in  the  case  of  the  Sacramento,  and  authority  given  to  the 
State  Reclamation  Board,  or  some  similar  agency,  to  cooperate  with 
the  federal  engineers  in  carrying  out  the  project  adopted. 


STATK    WATKR    PROBLEMS.  47 

137.  The   safety   of  the   city   of   Stockton   and  protection  of  many 
thousands  of  acres  of  rich  bottom  lands  in  the  valley  are  involved  in 
the  early  completion  of  a  project  of  this  character,  while  the  interests 
of  irrigation  could  perhaps  be  incidentally  served.     The  recommenda- 
tions  of   the  conference   look   to   giving   the   proposed   Flood   Control 
Board  jurisdiction  over  this  project. 

The  Sacramento   Flood  Control   Project. 

138.  Of  the  four-  big  flood  control  problems  of  California,  that  of  the 
Sacramento  River  is  the  only  one  that  has  had,  for  a  term  of  years,  a 
combination   of  these   elements:   exhaustive   engineering  investigation, 
formulation  and  approval  of  a  detailed  plan,  adoption  thereof  by  the 
state  of  California,  and  continued  progress  of  the  work  under  coopera- 
tion of  national  and  state  commissions  created  for  the  purpose.     The 
Sacramento  project,  in  consequence,  is  the  only  one  for  intimate  investi- 
gation of  which  an  opportunity  was  presented  to  the  conference. 

139.  For  detailed  information  in  connection  with  this  project  ref- 
erence  is   made   to   the   following   documents:    Report   of   the   House 
Committee  on  Flood  Control,  April,  1916,  House  Report  No.  616,  which 
affords  the  most  comprehensive  history  of  the  project,  its  purposes  and 
prospective  advantages;  Report  of  the  State  Reclamation  Board,  1916, 
which  outlines  the  actual  progress  of  the  work,  methods  of  financing, 
etc.;  the  Reclamation  Board  Act,  1915,  outlining  the  state's  attitude 
toward  the  project  and  the  powers  and  duties  of  the  Reclamation  Board 
in  connection  therewith.     For  purposes  of  this  report  and  in  order 
that    certain    recommendations   herein   made    as   to   the   project    and 
certain  suggestions  as  to  reclamation  may  be  fully  understood  it  is 
necessary  only  to  give  the  following  points : 

140.  The   Sacramento  River  calls  for  heroic  treatment  because  of 
its  great  floods — now  estimated  at  660,000  second  feet — fourth  largest 
in  actual  volume  among  the  rivers  of  the  United  States,  and  in  pro- 
portion to  territory  drained,  from  four  to  fifteen  times  as  great  as 
any  of  the  other  three. 

141.  It  is  agreed  that  the  by-pass  system  is  the  only  one  which  will 
secure  permanent  flood  control  of  the  river.     The  plan  contemplates 
retaining  within  the  channel  by  strong  levees  so  much  of  the  flow  as 
the  channel  can  safely  carry,  thereby  insuring  scouring  and  deepening; 
diverting  the  excess  floods  at  four  points  over  waste  weirs  and  carrying 
them  through  by-passes  to  Rio  Vista,  fifteen  miles  from  the  river's 
mouth ;   deepening  and  widening  this  fifteen  mile  stretch  to  accommodate 
the  maximum  floods;  and  providing  that  reservoirs  hereafter  installed 
for  irrigation  or  power  may  fit  into  the  plan  and  furnish  additional 


48  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

factors  of  safety  to  the  extent  of  the  volume  of  flood  held  back  at  the 
critical  time. 

142.  The  engineers  explain  that  on  the  Sacramento  River  the  inter- 
ests of  flood  control,  navigation,  care  of  mining  debris  and  reclama- 
tion are  so  interwoven  that  they  can  not  be  served  economically  by 
separate  plans. 

143.  The  project,  as  the  only  one  which  will  serve  these  purposes,  is 
necessary  for  the  preservation  of  navigation  in  the  Sacramento  River 
and  incidentally  a  protection  to   the  lower  San  Joaquin  as  well;  of 
value  to  inland  waterways,  and,  therefore,  to  commerce ;   a  necessity 
for  permanent  reclamation  of  over  a  million  acres  of  rich  bottom  lands 
and  for  placing  population  thereon ;  the  only  means  for  permanently 
insuring  safety  from  floods  for  the  city  of  Sacramento  and  the  state 
property  therein.     The  report  of  the   California  Debris   Commission, 
1910,  showed  that  the  damage  done  by  Sacramento  River  floods  in 
1904,  1907  and  1910  was  $11,000,000.     In  1907   San  Francisco  and 
Sacramento  were  cut  off  from  rail  communication  to  the  eastward  for 
ten  days. 

144.  The  work  under  the   project  is  to  be  done  as  follows:   That 
portion  of  it  declared  to  be  necessary  in  the  interests  of  navigation 
and   commerce,  to  wit,  the  construction  of  the  four  weirs,   and  the 
enlarging  of  the  river's  mouth,  and  any  channel  dredging,  is  placed 
under  direction  of  the  California  Debris  Commission,  named  by  the 
War  Department.     The  future  expense  of  this  portion  of  the  project, 
estimated  at  $11,200,000,   is  proposed  to  be  divided,  half  and  half, 
between  congress  and  the  state  of  California.     The  remaining  portion 
of  the  work,  including  construction  of  all  river  and  by-pass  levees  and 
obtaining  rights  of  way  therefor,  is  under  the  direction  of  the  state, 
acting  through  the  State  Reclamation  Board,  and  the  expense  thereof, 
aggregating  about  $30,000,000,  is  to  be  met  by  assessments  on  the  lands 
benefited  in  proportion  to  benefits  received. 

145.  California  formally  adopted  the  project  and  in  effect  agreed  to 
carry  through  her  portion  thereof  by  legislative  acts  of  1911   (special 
session),  1913  and  1915.    The  project  was  passed,  in  the  Flood  Control 
Bill  (H.  R.  14777),  by  the  lower  house  of  congress  in  May,  1916,  and 
will  come  before  the  senate  for  approval  at  the  December  short  session. 
The  bill  provides  for  an  appropriation  by  congress  each  year  of  not 
exceeding  $1,000,000  until  the  amount  of  $5,600,000  has  been  paid, 
on    condition    that    California    appropriate    a   similar    amount.      The 
annual   appropriation   named   was   based   on   the  statement   from  the 
office  of  the  chief  of  engineers  for  Rivers  and  Harbors  that  economical 


STATE   WATER   PROBLEMS.  49 

efficiency  would  be  best  served  if  the  project  be  completed  in  five  or 
six  years. 

146.  The  Sacramento  River  flood  control  project  is  the  only  flood 
control  project  in  the  United  States,  except  that  of  the  Mississippi, 
which  was  ready  by  investigation,  detailed  plan,  report,  recommenda- 
tion,  approval  and  creation   of  necessary  state  authority  for  action 
by  congress  at  the  present  session,  and  this  fact  gave  it  place  in  the 
Flood  Control  Bill.     The  attitude  assumed  by  California  in  relation 
thereto  and  the  harmonious  cooperation  had  for  five  years  past  with 
the  national  authorities  have  placed  the  state- in  a  unique  position 
with   congress,   and  her  policy  is  being  gradually  made   a  standard 
which  other  states  are  asked  to  follow. 

147.  It  should  be  remembered  that  the  Flood  Control  Bill,  while 
providing   specifically    for    approval   of   the   only    two   flood   control 
projects  in  the  United  States  prepared  for  such  approval,  also  furnishes 
machinery  under  which  any  meritorious  flood  control  project  may  be 
investigated,   and   after  favorable   recommendation  by  the  Board  of 
Engineers,  receive  approval  and  appropriation  in  the  manner  followed 
with  the  Mississippi  and  Sacramento  projects.     The  machinery  thus 
provided  is  a  departure  in  the  policy  of  congress,  and  it  may  be  found 
of   value    in    furthering   other   flood    control   projects   of   this   state. 
Copies  of  the  Flood  Control  Bill  and  other  documents  of  interest  in 
connection  with  this  matter  will  be  found  among  the  papers  submitted 
with  this  report. 

148.  Under  cooperation  of  the  state  and  federal  authorities  work  on 
the  Sacramento  project  is  steadily  advancing.    A  large  amount  of  the 
river  levee   construction   and  some   of  the  by-pass  levees  have  been 
completed ;  while  work  in  the  river 's  mouth  is  proceeding  under  federal 
direction  with  state  and  national  appropriations,  made  for  what  is 
locally  referred  to  as  the  "minor  project.'7    (See  State  Reclamation 
Hoard  report,  1916.) 

Flood  Control    Recommendations. 

149.  The  conference  has  recommended  that  the  present  powers  of  the 
State  Reclamation  Board  in   connection  with  the   Sacramento  Flood 
Control  project  be  transferred  to  the  proposed  State  Flood  Control 
Board.     With  the  increased  jurisdiction  given  such  proposed  board, 
some  of  the  complications  which  have  hampered  the  efficiency  of  the 
Reclamation  Board  will  disappear;  and  with  desirable  changes  in  the 
matter  of  financing  and  levy  and  collection  of  assessments,  explained 
in  Chapter  IX,  "Reclamation"  (Sec.  201),  and  Chapter  XVII,  "State 


50  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

Aid  in  Interest  cf  Conservation"  (Sec.  818),  it  is  believed  the  Sacra- 
mento project  can  be  assisted  to  early  completion  and  blaze  the  way 
for  successful  prosecution  of  other  similar  projects. 

150.  The  magnitude  of  the  four  problems  named;  the  fact  that  in 
only  one  case  has  a  plan  for  solution  been  adopted ;  the  danger  and 
loss  which  must  result  until  permanent  remedial  measures  have  been 
carried   to   completion ;   the   number   of  smaller   flood   problems,   each 
important  to  its  own  district,  would  seem  to  offer  ample  justification 
for  the  recommendations  of  the  conference  looking  to  the  creation  of 
a  State  Flood  Controf  Board  with  state- wide  jurisdiction  and  ample 
powers;   the  thorough  investigation   of   available   reservoir  sites;   and 
state  supervision  and  assistance  in  the  construction  of  reservoirs  and 
application  of  remedial  measures,  the  state  to  be  reimbursed  by  the 
interests  benefited  for  moneys  expended  or  credit  loaned. 

151.  There    is    apparent,    too,    the    necessity    for   the    gathering    of 
reliable  data  as  to  stream  flow  in  flood  season.     Without  such  data 
it  is  impracticable  to  formulate  flood  control  projects  which  will  pro- 
vide adequate  protection  when  the  great  flood  comes.     The  state  there- 
fore should  at  once  take  the  necessary  steps  for  systematic  collection 
of  such  data.     As  indicating  the  necessity  therefor  the  following  facts 
are  cited:  In  1881   the  official  report  of  the  Board  of  Engineers  for 
Rivers   and   Harbors   placed  the  maximum   floods   of  the   Sacramento 
River  at  100,000  second  feet;  in  1904  the  report  of  the  "Dabney" 
Commission   was  based   on   a   maximum   of   250,000  second   feet ;   the 
floods   of   1907    carried   600,000   second   feet;   later   floods   in   certain 
tributaries  have  demonstrated  the  possibility  of  a  greater  maximum; 
and  recent  investigations  have  caused  some  engineers  to  doubt  that 
present  estimates  even  approach  the  maximum  flood  the  valley  may 
some  day  experience.     Asain,  the  maximum  flow  of  the  Kings  River 
has  been  estimated  at  39,000  second  feet ;  it  flowed  in  1914  for  a  short 
time  62,000  second  feet.     It  is  fairly  certain  that  the  flood  possibilities 
of  the  other  rivers  which  empty  into  the  Tulare  Lake  have  been  very 
much  underestimated ;  for  instance  the  run-off  of  Kern  River  for  the 
season    1915-16,    as    recently    ascertained    by   the    State    Engineering 
Department,   was   50  per  cent  greater  than   for  the  season   1905—06, 
which  furnished  the  greatest  previously  recorded  flow  in  that  river. 
And  by  analogy  it  may  be  assumed  that  present  estimates  of  maximum 
floods  in  other  streams  are  equally  unreliable. 


STATE   WATER    PROBLEMS.  51 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Riparian  Rights. 

152.  Owing  to  the  character  of  climate  and  soil  it  has  long  been 
recognized   that    California   has   no   more   serious   problem   than   that 
arising  from  the  necessity  for  the  economical  use  of  its  supply  of  water. 

153.  Broadly  speaking,   two   divergent   doctrines   are   recognized   as 
controlling  the  right  to  use  water.     One  is  the  doctrine  of  appropria- 
tion.   Theoretically,  this  doctrine  is  recognized  as  existing  in  this  state, 
but  practically  it  is  subordinated  to  the  doctrine  of  riparian  rights. 
With  various  unimportant  modifications  indicated  by  different  writers, 
or  suggested  in  different  decisions,  or  arising  from  different  conditions, 
a  statement  of  this  doctrine  that  can  be  accepted  as  substantially  cor- 
rect is,  "  Whoever  first  diverts  the  water  of  a  stream  and  puts  it  to  a 
beneficial  use  is  entitled  to  the  water  so  diverted  so  long  as,  and  to  the 
amount  that,  he  puts  to  a  beneficial  use. ' ' 

154.  The  other  doctrine  is  inherited  from  the  common  law,  and  is 
that  of  riparian  rights.     The  formula  for  this  doctrine,  which  in  its 
broadest  terms  admits  the  absolute  ownership  by  the  riparian  proprie- 
tors of  all  the  water  in  the  stream  to  which  their  land  is  riparian,  is 
that  a  riparian  proprietor  is  entitled  to  have  the  water  flow  by  his  door 
undiminished  in  quantity  and  unpolluted  in  quality.    The  only  limita- 
tions, broadly  speaking,  upon  this  right,  seem  to  be:  (a)   The  right  of 
the  public  in  navigable  streams  to  maintain  the  navigability  of  such 
streams  (1  Farnham  on  Water  Rights,  136),  and  (6)   The  right  of  all 
riparian  proprietors  as  between  themselves  to  a  reasonable  use  of  the 
water    (Turner  vs.   James  Canal   Company,   155   Cal.    182).     In  its 
broadest  claim  this  doctrine  recognizes  no  right  in  the  public,  or  in 
persons  whose  lands  are  not  riparian  to  the  stream.    It  is  questionable 
whether  the  courts  of  this  state  have  gone  so  far  as  above  stated  in 
sustaining  the  rights  of  riparian  proprietors,  but  it  can  not  be  said 
with  certainty  that  such  is  not  the  law  in  California.     (Miller  &  Lux 
vs.  Enterprise  Canal  Company,  169  Cal.  447.) 

155.  Very  early  in  the  history  of  the  arid  and  semiarid  West  it  was 
recognized  that  this  doctrine  was  not  applicable  to  conditions  there 
existing,  and  in  the  states  of  Colorado,  Arizona,  Idaho,  New  Mexico, 
Nevada,  Utah,  Wyoming,  Nebraska,  Oregon  and  Texas  the  law  was 
either  abrogated  or  materially  modified. 

156.  Unfortunately,  the   courts  of  this  state  were   called  upon   to 
adjudicate  the  question  of  water  rights  before  the  importance  of  irri- 
gation was  recognized,  and  without  any  legislative  action  attempting  to 
limit  or  define  the  rights  of  appropriators,  or  of  riparian  proprietors. 


52  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

In  the  absence  of  such  legislation,  the  Supreme  Court  adopted  the 
riparian  doctrine  from  the  common  law.  Thereby  the  rights  of  the 
riparian  proprietor  to  the  water  flowing  by  his  land  became  recognized 
as  a  vested  property  right,  of  which  he  could  not  be  deprived  without 
compensation,  or  due  process  of  law  (Lux  vs.  Haggin).  Probably  it  is 
now  universally  recognized  that  the  incorporation  of  this  doctrine 
into  the  jurisprudence  of  California  was  a  mistake,  and  that  it  is 
even  more  inapplicable  to  the  conditions  existing  here  than  to  the 
conditions  existing  in  many  of  the  states  which  have  repudiated  it. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  the  law  of  the  state. 

157.  From  time  to  time  in  various  decisions  the  courts  have  intimated 
that  possibly  some   relief  might  be  found  in  legislative   action,   and 
there  is  a  considerable  amount  of  authority  justifying  the  contention 
that,  inasmuch  as  the  right  of  irrigation  was  not  one  of  the  rights 
recognized  under  the  old  common  law  doctrine  of  riparian  rights,  the 
courts  of  this  state,  under  proper  legislation,  could,  without  interfering 
with  vested  property  rights,  limit  riparian  proprietors  to  such  amount 
of  water  as  was  actually  being  put  to  a  beneficial  use  for  irrigation 
purposes,  treating  them,  so  far  as  irrigation  was  concerned,  as  appro- 
priators  by   nature,   if   this   expression    can   be   used,   rather   than   as 
possessing  the  right  as  riparian  proprietors  to  the  use  of  water  for 
irrigation.     The  fact  that  by  constitutional  provision  the  use  of  water 
is  declared  a  public  use  and  that  most  of  our  streams  are  tributary  to 
navigable  rivers   over  which,  so  far  as  navigation   is   concerned,   the 
public  has  an  undoubted  right  of  control,  strengthens  the  contention. 
(Miller  vs.  Bay  Cities  Water  Company,  157  Cal.  256.)     While  the  con- 
ference has  recognized  the  possibility  of  such  a  contention  being  upheld, 
it  has  seemed  best  to  suggest  such  legislation  as  might  be  sustained, 
even  in  the  face  of  the  extreme  statement  of  the  riparian  doctrine 
hereinbefore  given.     The  conference  is  in  favor  of  legislation   along 
other  lines,  if  practicable,  and  there  is  no  intention,  at  this  time,  to 
insist  that  the  methods  proposed  are  the  only  methods  of  overcoming 
this  evil,  but  merely  that  they  seem  to  be  the  most  feasible. 

158.  The  evils  of  the  riparian  doctrine  are  indicated  by  Mr.  Justice 
Holmes  in  a  recent  case  before  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  in 
which,  referring  to  that  doctrine,  he  said: 

"Such  a  limitation  would  substitute  accident  for  a  rule  based 
upon  economic  consideration,  and  an  effort,  adequate  or  not,  to  get 
the  greatest  use  from  all  available  land." 

And  Mr.  Justice  Brewer  has  said,  that  under  the  law  of  prior  appro- 
priation, "barrenness  disappears  and  the  desert  becomes  a  garden 
blossoming  like  the  rose."  (1  Weil  Water  Rights,  124.) 


STATE   WATER    PROBLEMS.  53 

Particular  Evils  of  the   Riparian   Doctrine. 

159.  Uneconomic  use.     It  seems  to  be  generally  recognized  that  the 
supply  of  water  available  for  irrigation  in  the  state  of  California,  if 
not  actually  less  than  that  required,  is  at  least  so  limited  in  quantity 
as  to  require  the  greatest  possible  economy  in  its  conservation  and  use. 
One  grave  objection  to  the  riparian  doctrine  is  that  it  prevents  such 
economic  use.     Under  this  doctrine,  the  landowners  along  the  banks  of 
the  stream  own  all  of  the  water  (except  perhaps  the  water  from  extreme 
floods)  in  that  stream,  and  are  entitled  to  enjoin  any  diversion  of  such 
water.     In  other  words,  it  seems  that  they  are  entitled  to  insist  upon 
the  right  to  have  divided  among  themselves  all  of  the  water  of  the 
stream.     Since,  of  necessity,  only  a  small  portion  of  the  irrigable  land 
is  riparian,  large  areas  of  land,  if  this  doctrine  is  strictly  enforced, 
would  be  deprived  of  water  for  irrigation. 

160.  Insecurity  of  other  rights  to  water.     The  right  to  acquire  this 
water    for    nonriparian   land   by   condemnation   or   purchase   does   not 
remedy  the  evil,  since  such   condemnation  or  purchase,  to  be  of  any 
value,   must    cover  the   rights  of  all  of  the  riparian  proprietors,   and 
such   proposed   purchaser  would  be  powerless  upon  any  considerable 
stream  to  reach  satisfactory  terms  with  all  riparian  proprietors. 

161.  Tlie  only  method  by  which  any  large  amounts  of  water  legally 
have   been    diverted   permanently   to   nonriparian   land   has    been   by 
adverse  use.     This  is  too  uncertain  and  risky,  however,  to  be  depended 
upon.     The  statute  would  not  run  against  upper  riparian  proprietors, 
and  the  extent  to  which  it  would  run  in  any  particular  case  against 
lower  riparian  proprietors,  naturally,  is  uncertain.    The  danger  of  suit 
for  damage  or  for  injunction  before  such  title  had  been  acquired  by 
adverse  possession,  renders  impracticable  any  considerable  dependence 
upon  this  method  of  obtaining  title.     It  has  happened  not  infrequently 
that  appropriators  of  water  for  nonriparian  land  have  expended  large 
sums   in   building   reservoirs   and   other   diverting   works   only   to   be 
enjoined  from  using  the  water  after  such  works  were  completed.     One 
must  go  upon  the  stream  and  build  his  diverting  works  to  irrigate  land, 
or  his  impounding  reservoir  to  impound  water  for  power  purposes,  or 
even  such  impounding  or  diverting  works  as  may  be  desired  for  navi- 
gation, with  the  risk  that  at  any  time,  before  his  interference  with  the 
flow  of  the  stream  has  ripened  into  a  right,  through  lapse  of  time,  he 
may  be  enjoined  by  some  riparian  proprietor,  who  claims  that  such 
works  interfere  with  the  flow  of  the  water,  and  lose  all  of  the  money 
expended  in  such  work,  or  be  compelled  to  bring  expensive  and  pro- 
tracted condemnation  proceedings  to  condemn  such  adverse  right,  and 
perhaps  in  the  meantime  be  enjoined  from  such  use. 

162.  Securities  made  uncertain.     As  can  be  readily  seen,  the  existing 
condition  comes  very  near  paralyzing  all  water  development  in  the 


54  REPORT   OF   CONFERENCE 

state.  Securities  issued  by  companies  desiring  to  develop  hydro- 
electric energy,  or  to  divert  water  for  irrigation ;  bonds  of  irrigation 
districts ;  and,  in  fact,  any  securities  based  upon  any  use  of  water,  run 
the  risk  of  attack  at  any  time  until,  by  operation  of  the  statute  of 
limitation,  or  by  prescription,  the  rights  to  such  water  have  become 
perfected.  As  water  becomes  more  valuable,  and  the  riparian  proprie- 
tors obtain  a  clearer  understanding  of  their  rights,  it  becomes 
increasingly  difficult  to  develop  any  of  the  water  resources  of  the  state. 

163.  Summing  up  the  situation,  in  its  broadest  terms,  the  doctrine  of 
riparian  rights,  which  seems  to  be  the  existing  law  in  California,  recog- 
nizes that  the  owners  of  land  upon  the  borders  of  the  stream,  by  reason 
of  their  riparian  right,  are  the  owners  of  all  the  water  flowing  in  that 
stream,  and  that  their  right  is  a  right  of  property  of  which  they  can 
not  be  divested  without  compensation  and  due  process  of  law;  that  an 
owner  of  nonriparian  land  has  no  right  to  divert  the  water  to  that 
land  against  the  objection  of  such  riparian  owners,  and  that  no  one 
has  a  right  to  build  any  reservoir  in  the  stream  (for  generating  power 
or  for  other  purposes)  which  will  prevent  the  flow  of  the  water  in  its 
accustomed  manner,  to  the  land  of  such  riparian  proprietors,  without 
their  consent. 

164.  It  appears  further  that  the  only  way  in  which  a  right  to  divert 
or  impound,  or  otherwise  use  this  water,  can  be  obtained  is  either  by 
purchase  from  the  riparian  owners,  or  condemnation  of  their  rights — 
which  we  have  seen  is  hardly  practicable — or  else  by  the  use  of  such 
water  for  a  time  which  gives  title  by  adverse  possession.     Since  the 
right  to  water  is  a  property  right,  it  follows  that  such  adverse  user 
must  continue  for  a  period  of  five  years  before  title  is  acquired  thereby. 
One  other  limitation  has  been  recognized,  and  that  is  that  where  the 
riparian  proprietor  has  stood  by  and  without  objection  permitted  large 
public  interests  or  extensive  communities  to  be  developed  dependent 
upon  this  use  of  water,  adverse  to  the  rights  of  the  riparian  proprietor, 
such  riparian  proprietor  will  be  estopped  within  a  period  much  less 
than  five  years  to  object  to  such  use. 

Remedies  Proposed. 

165.  Since  the  right  of  a  riparian  proprietor  is  a  property  right,  it 
would  seem  that  it  can  not  be  taken  away  from  him  either  by  legislative 
action  or  by  constitutional  amendment.     Subject  to  the  possible  modi- 
fications, hereinbefore  suggested,  that  the  courts  might  recognize  as 
constitutional  such  legislation  as  would  limit  a  riparian  proprietor  to  a 
reasonable  and  beneficial  use  as  against  both  riparian  land  and  non- 
riparian  land,  it  would  seem  that  any  legislation  aimed  to  remedy  this 
evil  must  recognize  this  status.     While  the  law  can  not  take  away  a 
right  to  property,  the  legislature,  within  reasonable  limits,  can  modify  or 


STATE   WATER    PROBLEMS.  55 

control  the  remedy  applicable  to  the  protection  of  that  right.  This  con- 
trol may  apply  to  the  method  by  which  the  riparian  proprietor  may  pro- 
tect his  rights,  and  also  to  the  time  within  which  he  must  exercise  the 
remedy  given.  The  two  logical  methods  of  control  then  would  seem  to 
be,  first,  by  the  remedies  allowed,  and,  second,  by  limiting  the  time 
within  which  the  rights  given  by  such  remedies  can  be  exercised. 

166.  After   careful   consideration,   the   members   of   the   conference, 
while  entirely  sympathetic  with  any  other  method  of  attack,  are  inclined 
to   suggest  legislation   along  these  lines,   and  have   recommended  the 
following  three  measures : 

167.  First,  the  enactment  of  a  law  under  which,  if  a  riparian  pro- 
prietor sues  to  enjoin  an  interference  with  his  riparian  right,  the  person 
sued  may  come  into  court  and  in  the  same  action  have  the  court  deter- 
mine whether  or  not  the  riparian  proprietor  is  damaged  by  such  alleged 
interference  with  his  right,  and  if  so,  and  in  proper  cases,  to  determine 
the  damage,  and  the  conditions  under  which  such  proposed  interference 
shall  be  permitted  to  continue.     In  other  words,  in  effect,  it  would  be 
permitting  the  defendant,  in  an  injunction  suit  by  a  riparian  proprietor, 
in  the  same  action,  to  condemn  the  right  of  that  riparian  proprietor. 
It  would  seem  that  this  remedy  is  eminently  just.     A  riparian  pro- 
prietor should  not  be  permitted  to  enjoin  the  use  of  the  waters  of  a 
stream  unless  damaged  thereby.     If  damaged,  and  such  damage  was 
caused  by  one  who  had  the  right  of  condemnation,  it  is  perfectly  proper 
that  in  one  action  and  at  one  time  the  whole  matter  should  be  determined. 
No   right   of  the   riparian  proprietor  is  interfered   with,   and  speedy 
determination  of  conflicting  rights  provided  for. 

168.  Second,  to  prohibit  the  issuance  of  an  injunction  unless  damage 
is  shown  by  the  riparian  proprietors. 

169.  The  third  remedy  proposed  is  materially  to  limit  the  time  within 
which  a  riparian  proprietor  may  bring  an  action  to  protect  his  rights. 

170.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  at  the  present  time  that  every  phase  of 
water  development  in  the  state  is  at  the  mercy  of  the  riparian  proprietor. 
A  municipal  corporation,  seeking  to  obtain  water  for  municipal  pur- 
poses; an  irrigation  district,  seeking  to  use  water  for  irrigation;  and 
either  one  of  these  public  corporations  or  a  private  corporation  seeking 
to  develop  water  power,  are  subject,  at  any  moment,  to  expensive  and 
annoying   litigation,   and   to   the   possibility   of  being  enjoined  by   a 
riparian  proprietor  whose  damage  perhaps  is  speculative  rather  than 
real.     The  riparian  proprietor  for  years  has  had  the  opportunity  of 
utilizing  the  water  which  he  claims.     It  is  utterly  impossible,  in  many 
cases,  to  get  together  all  possible  riparian  claimants  of  the  waters  upon 
;.iiy  stream  in  advance  of  the  undertaking  of  a  water  development  pro- 
ject, and  therefore,  under  the  present  law,  either  the  water  must  remain 


56  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

unused,  or  the  great  risk  must  be  taken  of  large  expenditures,  which  may 
be  lost.  It  follows  that  a  very  limited  period  should  be  prescribed 
within  which  a  riparian  proprietor  is  permitted  to  bring  an  action  to 
prevent  such  development.  The  state  is  profoundly  interested  in 
encouraging  the  use  and  development  to  the  utmost  of  its  supply  of 
water,  and  to  the  public  it  is  not  material  whether  that  water  be  utilized 
by  a  riparian  proprietor,  or  by  some  other  interest,  so  long  as  it  is 
utilized  and  the  wealth  of  the  state  increased  thereby. 

171.  It  is  proposed  to  enact  a  law  under  which  a  riparian  proprietor 
must,  within  three  months  after  notice  of  the  proposed  commencement 
of  any  work  which  he  claims  interferes  with  his  riparian  right,  com- 
mence his  action,  or  else  be  forever  barred.     The  proposed  law  provides 
proper  machinery  to  give  notice  to  such  riparian  proprietor,  and  the 
riparian  proprietor  is  protected  to  the  amount  of  water  which  he  is 
putting  to  a  beneficial  use  at  the  time  such  water  development  com- 
menced,  or  is  in  the  process  of  putting  to  a  beneficial  use,  with  reason- 
able diligence.     In  other  words,  under  this  law,  a  riparian  proprietor 
would  be  in  a  position  to  protect  himself  to  the  amount  of  water  neces- 
sary for  the  beneficial  irrigation  of  the  riparian  land  owned  by  him, 
but  would  not  be  permitted  to  take  a  "dog  in  the  manger"  attitude,  and 
claim  more  water  than  he  was  able  to  use  beneficially  upon  his  land. 

172.  It  is  the  belief  of  the  members  of  the  conference  that  these  three 
remedies  will  go  very  far  toward  eliminating  the  most  serious  evils  con- 
nected with  the  doctrine  of  riparian  rights,  and  that  they  do  not  inter- 
fere with,  or  infringe  in  the  slightest  degree  upon,  any  vested  right,  and 
do  not  work  any  hardship  upon  any  riparian  proprietor. 


STATK    WATER    PROBLEMS.  57 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Irrigation. 

173.  Physical  conditions  in  the  state,  while  necessitating  irrigation, 
are  particularly  favorable  for  such  irrigation.     The  irrigable  valleys 
are  comparatively  narrow,  while  upon  the  high  mountains  the  water 
is  stored  in  the  form  of  snow  until,  under  the  warmth  of  the  advancing 
season,  the  snow  melts  at  the  time  when  there  is  the  greatest  need  for 
water.     The  one  drawback  arises  from  the  fact  that  the  melting  snow 
comes  down  more  rapidly  than  it  is  possible,   and  somewhat  earlier 
than  it  is  desirable,  to  use  the  water,  so  that,  unless  storage  is  pro- 
vided for  such  water,  much  of  it  runs  to  waste  and  the  land  is  deprived 
of  the  later  irrigation   which  is  very  desirable.     Here   again  nature 
has  been  kind,  since  there  are  in  the  mountains  many  ideal  reservoir 
sites  in  which  the  water  can  be  stored  with  comparative  economy.     It 
is  within  the  limits  of  possibility  that  most  of  the  water  which  could 
be  used  for  irrigation,  and  which  now  runs  to  waste,  could  be  stored 
in  such  reservoirs  so  as  greatly  to  increase  the  irrigable  acreage,  and 
materially  to  extend  the  irrigating  season  for  the  land  already  irri- 
gated, thus  adding  much  to  the  wealth  of  the  state.    While  the  exami- 
nations which  have  been  made  would  seem  to  indicate  that  there  is 
more    irrigable   land   than   there   is   water   which   can   practically   be 
applied  to  the  irrigation  thereof,  yet  it  is  probable  that  by  a  systematic 
plan  of  storage  and  the  proper  conservation  by  winter  irrigation,  and 
the  use  of  underground  water,  a  very  large  portion  of  the  irrigable 
land  in  the  state  could  be  provided  with  a  reasonably  adequate  amount 
of  water.    So  stupendous  is  the  possible  addition  that  this  would  make 
to  the  wealth  of  the  state  that  one  hesitates  to  make  even  an  estimate. 

174.  It  must  also  be  remembered  that  hand  in  hand  with  the  great 
economic  loss  annually  suffered  by  inability  to  obtain  water  for  the 
irrigation  of  the  arid  land  goes  the  damage  to  the  swamp  and  reclaimed 
land  by  floods.     Another  drawback  to  the  industrial  development  of 
California,  particularly  before  the  development  of  the  supplies  of  oil, 
wax  the  lack  of  cheap  fuel,  and  it  should  be  realized  that  the  proper 
conservation  and  utilization  of  water  for  irrigation  may  be  so  accom- 
plished as  materially  to  lessen  the  damage  from  floods  and  greatly  to 
increase  the  opportunity  for  the  development  of  power  for  the  genera- 
tion of  electrical  energy,  so  that  the  reclamation  from  aridity  of  the 
agricultural  lands  of  the  state  carries  with  it  material  reclamation  of 
flooded  lands  and  the  possibility  of  a  great  increase  in  power  develop- 
ment.    We  believe  that  all  projects  should  be  developed  with  these 
three  objects  in  view.     This  proposition  is  now  so  well  known  and  so 


58  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

universally  accepted  as  to  be  elemental.     Unfortunately,  however,   a 
full  realization  of  the  full  importance  of  this  problem  comes* slowly. 

175.  In  the  beginning  of  our  state  history  no  legislative  programme 
had  been   outlined  relative  to  the  use  of  water,   and  there  were  no 
legal   precedents  in  the  United   States  to   guide  the   courts.     In   the 
absence  of  legislation  and  precedents,  and  in  the  absence,  on  the  part 
of  the  judges,  of  practical  experience,  they  were  compelled  to  grope 
in  the  dark  and  to  follow,  as  best  they  could,  the  precedents  of  the 
common  law.     The  result  has  been  the  recognition  and  the  establish- 
ment of  the  riparian  doctrine  which  has  made  it  very  difficult  to  bring 
about  an  efficient  and  economic  distribution  of  the  very  inadequate 
and  badly  distributed  water  supply  of  the  state.    Many  early  projects 
thereby  secured  a  greater  proportion  of  water  than  was  essential  to 
proper   irrigation    and   obtained    priority   which    deprived   other   and 
adjacent  land  of  a  proper  water  supply,  or  imposed  upon  that  land 
burdensome  conditions  and  expensive  charges. 

176.  It  was  assumed  in  the  beginning,  as,  unfortunately,  has  been 
assumed  with  regard  to  most  of  our  natural  resources,  that  the  water 
supply    was   unlimited.     This   led   not    only   to   unjust    priority    and 
wasteful  use,  so  far  as  the  rights  of  the  consumers  were  concerned, 
but  also  to  wasteful  methods  of  measurement  and  distribution.    Where 
water  was  abundant,  the  only  limitation  in  its  use  would  be  that  such 
use  should  not  interfere  with  the  rights  of  others  using  from  the  same 
stream  or  from  the  same  ditch.     The  result  was  that  there  grew  up 
the  practice  of  measuring  the  amount  of  water  to  which  a  person  was 
entitled,  not  by  the  amount,  but  by  the  loose  method  of  the  length  of 
time   required   to   irrigate,   or   by   the   acreage   irrigated.      Instead   of 
measurement  by  the  acre  foot,  measurement  by  second  feet  grew  up. 
Theoretically,  of  course,   a  certain  amount  of  water  delivered  for  a 
certain  length  of  time  would  cover  the  land  to  be  irrigated  to  a  certain 
depth,  but  practically,  the  method  has  resulted  in  paying  little  attention 
to  the  actual  amount  of  water  delivered,  or  to  the  economical  time 
of  use.     The  method  to  which  probably  we  should  ultimately  come, 
w^here  the  water  will  be  efficiently  used,   is  to  determine  the  actual 
quantity  delivered,  so  that  it  may  be  measured  by  the  acre  foot,  or  by 
the  actual  amount  of  water  delivered,  and  no  one  should  be  permitted 
to  have  more  water  than  he  can  efficiently  utilize. 

177.  This  would  lead,  of  course,  to  the  control  by  the  state  of  the 
distribution  of  the  waters  cf  a  stream  to  the  various  users  from  that 
stream,  which  will  be  treated  elsewhere  in  this  report. 

178.  The   necessity   for   irrigation   forced   its   practice   in   the   arid 
regions  of  the  state,  and  the  satisfactory  result  thereof  has  caused  it 


STATK    WATER    PROBLEMS.  59 

gradually  to  spread  to  the  less  arid  portions  until  it  has  become 
doubtful  whether  irrigation  may  not  be  profitable  even  where  the 
rainfall  is  the  greatest. 

179.  Naturally,  the  first  attempts  at  irrigation  were  with  the  water 
easily  accessible  to  the  land  adjacent  thereto.     While  this  method  of 
development  was  natural,  and  apparently  unavoidable,  and  has  worked 
out  reasonably  efficiently  and  satisfactorily,  yet  it  involved  a  wasteful 
use  of  this  very  valuable  resource  of  the  state.     Had  it  been  possible 
in  the  beginning  carefully  to  have  determined  the  lands  which  were 
susceptible    of    irrigation    from    any    one    stream,    and   then   to   have 
applied   a  comprehensive  system  of  reclamation  and  distribution,   to 
the  end  that  all  of  the  water  in  such  stream  should  be  utilized  most 
efficiently  and  economically  for  the  irrigation  of  the  lands  dependent 
thereon,  while  the  cost  of  irrigation  to  some  of  the  land  would  have  been 
in  excess  of  what  it  is  under  the  conditions  of  development  that  have 
taken  place,  as  to  all  of  the  lands  dependent  upon  such  streams,  it 
would  have  resulted  in  applying  water  at  a  very  much  less  cost  than 
it  can  hope  to  be  applied  under  existing  system. 

180.  The  first  development  undertaken,  of  course,  was  the  result  of 
private    enterprise.      It    was    entirely   practicable    and    comparatively 
easy  for  owners  of  land,  easily  and  cheaply  irrigable  from  a  stream,  to 
get  together,  and,  by  combined  action,  provide  for  the  irrigation  of 
their  land ;  and  it  was  equally  easy  for  one  or  more  large  landowners 
owning  land  so  favorably  situated,  to  construct  an  irrigation  system 
that  would  carry  water  to  all  of  the  lands  owned  by  them,  and  then, 
in  selling  the  land,  to  reimburse  themselves  for  the  cost  of  such  irri- 
gation system.     Thereby  they  not  only  brought  to  themselves  consid- 
erable profit,  but  furnished  to  the  ultimate  owners  of  the  land  a  com- 
paratively cheap  system  of  irrigation.     The  land,  however,  subject  to 
such  easy  and  economic  irrigation,  was  not  very  extensive,  and  irri- 
gation development  soon  reached  a  stage  where  the  initial  outlay  was 
so  great  that  in  view  of  the  delayed  returns  which  resulted  from  the 
naturally  slow  utilization   of  the   water   on  large  tracts  of  land,   it 
became  unprofitable  for  private  enterprise  to  attempt  the  irrigation 
of  large  tracts  of  land  remaining  unirrigated. 

Irrigation/Districts  and  Their   Bonds. 

181.  In  this  stage  of  development  it  became  necessary  to  provide  a 
more   efficient   method   for   combining  the   interests  of  the  owners  of 
numerous  tracts  of  land  for  the  purpose  of  providing  water  for  the 
irrigation  thereof,  and  in  1887  the  first  genuine  district  act  was  passed. 
This  act,  as  is  the  present  act,  was  an  attempt  to  apply  to  the  problem 
of  providing  water  for  irrigation  a  combination  of  the  machinery  and 


60  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

municipal  power  possessed  by  school  districts  and  municipalities.  Its 
success  has  demonstrated  its  feasibility,  and  at  the  present  time  it 
appears  to  be  the  most  practicable  means  by  which  large  tracts  of 
very  productive,  but  arid  land,  can  be  reclaimed  and  brought  under 
irrigation. 

182.  Unfortunately,  but  very  naturally,  since  it  was  a  new  departure 
in  legislation,  the  original  law  had  many  defects.     Numerous  districts 
were  failures.     Looking  back,  however,  at  this  time  it  can  not  be  said 
with  certainty  that  such  failures  were  entirely  the  result  of  defects 
in  the  law  as  it  existed  at  that  time.     The  law  went  into  operation 
at    a    time    of    a    widespread    financial    depression.      Many    districts, 
organized  in  good  faith,  started  out  and  expended  a  considerable  sum 
of  money  in  constructing  a  portion  of  an  irrigation  system,  only  to 
find  that  it  w^as  impossible  to  market  their  securities  and  complete  the 
system.     In  such  a  condition,  where  a  community  was  confronted  with 
a  large  bonded  indebtedness  for  an  uncompleted  irrigation  system  from 
which  no  water  could  be  obtained,  and  with  the  absolute  refusal  of 
the  financial  interests  of  the  state  to  come  to  the  aid  of  such  districts, 
discouragement  resulted  and  repudiation  was  attempted.     It  is  prob- 
able, however,  that  if  there  was  any  blame  for  these  failures,  it  was 
more  largely  chargeable  to  the  shortsightedness  of  the  financial  interests 
of  the  state  than  to  the  ignorance,  incapacity,   or  dishonesty  of  the 
communities  attempting  to  organize  these  districts,  or  to  the  internal 
opposition    which   naturally   met   a   new   departure   so   radical   in   its 
nature. 

183.  As  a  concrete  illustration  of  the  situation,  the  Modesto  district 
is  typical  in  this  regard.     That  district  organized  and  spent  $800,000 
in  the  construction  of  a  diverting  dam  and  its  main  distributing  canal. 
At  first  its  securities  sold  fairly  readily  and  there  was  every  reason 
to  believe  that  it  would  be  able  to  sell  the  remainder  of  the  bonds 
authorized  so  as  to  bring  the  water  to  the  land.     At  this  stage,  however, 
it  became  impossible  to  find  any  purchasers  for  the  remaining  bonds 
of  the  district.    Without  irrigation  the  existing  debt  was  very  burden- 
some, and  it  was  almost  impossible  for  the  landowners  to  meet   the 
interest  charges  upon  a  worthless  system.     The  people  were  perfectly 
willing  to  sell  the  authorized  bonds,  and,  if  necessary,  to  authorize  more 
bonds  for  the  completion  of  the  system.    No  one  was  willing,  howrever, 
to  take  such  securities  and  apparently  the  holders  of  the  outstanding 
bonds  were  rather  willing  to  risk  the  loss  of  the  money  already  invested 
than  to  invest  a  little  more  with  the  hope  of  success.    It  was  only  after 
repeated  conferences  with  the  holders  of  the  bonds  that  the  people  in 
the  district  were  able  to  work  out  a  solution  of  the  problem.     Many 
times  it  seemed  that  the  whole  project  must  be  abandoned  because  of 


STATE    WATER    PROBLEMS.  61 

the  apparent  impossibility  of  financing  what  the  residents  of  the  district 
knew  to  be  an  absolutely  safe  proposition.  Now  the  bonds  of  the 
Modesto  Irrigation  District  are  recognized  as  among  the  very  best 
municipal  securities  in  the  state.  This  is  given  merely  to  illustrate 
the  fact  that  in  all  probability  had  the  people  outside  of  the  arid  regions 
appreciated  as  strongly  as  did  the  people  in  those  regions  the  impor- 
tance of  irrigation,  and  been  ready  to  meet  halfway  the  people  desiring 
irrigaticu,  the  bulk  of  the  districts  which  did  fail  would  have  been 
carried  to  a  successful  termination,  and  no  loss  would  have  been 
suffered  by  the  holders  of  bonds.  The  same  attitude  of  financiers 
toward  any  city  or  school  district  would  have  brought  the  same  results 
it  did  in  irrigation  districts. 

184.  In    1897    a   new   act   was   passed   which   attempted,   and   quite 
successfully,  to  remove  the  defects  which  experience  had  shown  existed 
in  the  original  act.     No  irrigation  district  organized  since  that  time 
has  defaulted  or  delayed  in  the  payment  of  the  principal  and  interest 
upon  any  securities  issued  by  it. 

185.  In   spite   of   this   fact,   however,    it   was   still   difficult   for  the 
irrigation  districts  to  sell  their  securities,  and  in  many  cases  excessive 
discounts   wrere   required.     From  time  to   time,   and   in  nearly   every 
session  of  the  legislature,  trifling  amendments  have  been  made,  chiefly 
at  the  suggestion  of  various  bankers  or  representatives  of  bonding 
houses,  seeking  to  overcome  this  condition.     The  result  of  the  legisla- 
tion has  been  that  the  securities  of  irrigation  districts  are  much  more 
strongly  safeguarded,  and  the  provisions  for  the  enforcement  thereof 
are  much  more  drastic  than  is  the  case  with  any  other  municipal  securi- 
iics   in  the  state.     It  was  natural,   however,  that  such  legislation  by 
piecemeal  should  result  in  some  discrepancies,   and  in  unnecessarily 
complicating  the  machinery  of  the  districts.     This  conference  is  not 
suggesting  any  very  marked  changes  in  the  law,  and  the  amendments 
suggested  are  largely  for  the  purpose  of  removing  these  discrepancies 
and  apparent  contradictions  and  of  simplifying  procedure.     It  is  also 
desired  to  render  easier   cooperation  with   federal  authorities  under 
the  national  Reclamation  Act. 

186.  Some  of  the  first  attempts  to  strengthen  the  bonds  of  the  districts 
were  along  the  line  of  rendering  more  difficult  the  organization  of 
districts,  with  the  purpose  of  requiring  almost  unanimous  action  on  the 
part   of   landowners.     In   view   of  subsequent   legislation   which   has 
thrown  drastic  safeguards  around  the  issuance  of  bonds,  it  has  been 
thought  that  it  might  be  wise  to  render  somewhat  easier  the  organiza- 
tion   of    a    district — depending    upon    state    supervision    and    drastic 
regulations  with  regard  to  the  issuance  of  bonds  to  afford  protection 
rather  than  the  making  difficult  the  organization  of  a  district.     The 


62  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

conference  believes  that  it  is  a  matter  of  profound  importance  to  the 
people  of  California  that  the  organization  of  districts  be  encouraged 
wherever  they  can  safely  be  organized  upon  a  basis  which  insures  their 
successful  and  economic  operation.  It  is  equally  essential,  however, 
that  the  securities  of  these  districts  be  placed  in  a  position  absolutely 
beyond  question,  and  these  are  the  two  objects  which  the  proposed 
amendments  have  in  view. 

187.  A  very  careful  examination  of  all  the  conditions  surrounding 
the  organization  and  operation  of  the  irrigation  districts  in  California 
leads  to  the  conclusion  that  the  difficulties  which  have  been  encountered 
and  which  now  exist,  as  is  hereinbefore  suggested,  arise  more  largely 
from  a  lack  of  sympathetic  cooperation  on  the  part  of  the  business 
interests  in  California  than  from  any  other  cause.  We  believe  that 
the  district  system  as  it  now  exists  provides  an  efficient  and  economic 
method  for  the  irrigation  of  land  which  otherwise  it  would  be  impos- 
sible to  provide  with  irrigation  facilities,  and  we  believe  that  the 
safeguards  now  thrown  around  the  issuance  of  bonds  renders  these 
bonds  practically  as  safe  investments  as  any  other  municipal  bonds  in 
the  state. 

;  188.  There  still  remains  much  unirrigated  land,  and  a  sufficient 
supply  of  unused  water  beneficially  to  irrigate  much  of  that  land. 
The  development  of  the  state  requires  the  combination  of  that  land  and 
water.  The  district  system  furnishes  an  almost  ideal  method  for  the 
distribution  and  management  of  such  water.  The  security  for  the 
needful  outlay  is  ample.  All  that  is  required  is  to  form  a  connection 
between  this  land  and  water  and  the  money.  In  spite  of  all  attempts 
in  the  past,  and  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  district  system  furnishes 
drastic  machinery  for  the  protection  of  the  investor,  the  fact  remains 
that,  except  at  the  expense  of  unreasonable  discount,  it  is  very  difficult 
to  finance  such  irrigation  projects.  They  are  too  big  for  the  people 
concerned  to  finance,  and  outside  capital  is  too  shy.  The  only  recourse 
seems  to  be  for  the  state  to  step  in  and  entirely  finance  such  projects 
in  a  manner  something  similar  to  that  used  by  the  federal  government 
in  irrigating  public  lands — by  state  guarantee  of  irrigation  securities, 
or  by  some  modified  plan. 

189.  The  conference  has  suggested  two  measures.  One  is  a  safe 
method  of  state  guarantee;  but  as  it  will  require  a  constitutional 
amendment,  and  take  four  or  more  years  to  put  it  in  operation,  a  tem- 
porary expedient  is  suggested.  This  is  the  creation  of  a  revolving  fund 
with  which  to  purchase  the  coupons  of  irrigation,  reclamation  and 
drainage  districts,  and  in  case  of  failure  to  repay  the  taking  over  by 
the  state  and  the  management  of  such  districts  until  repayment.  Inas- 
much as  the  defaulting  in  an  irrigation  bond  is  unknown  since  the  act 


STATE  WATER  PROBLEMS.  63 

of  1897,  there  would  seem  to  be  no  risk  or  expense  imposed  upon  the 
state,  but  at  the  same  time  a  sufficient  insurance  put  upon  the  bonds  to 
assure  their  ready  sale. 

If  it  should  happen  that  such  districts  should  default,  the  proper  state 
authority  would  immediately  step  in  and  take  charge  of  and  collect  all 
revenues,  etc.,  until  the  state  is  repaid. 

190.  With  regard  to  the  irrigation  district  law,  there  are  two  different 
points  of  view.     One  favors  provisions  which  will  admit  of  increased 
control  by  the  state  authorities,  not  only  in  the  organization  and  issuance 
of  securities,  but  in  the  management  and  operation  of  irrigation  districts. 
The  other  strongly  believes  in  the  doctrine  of  local  self-government,  and 
insists  that  so  far  as  it  can  be  done  with  safety  to  the  holders  of  the 
securities  of  districts,  that  the  affairs  of  the  district  be  left  in  the  hands 
of  the  community  in  which  it  exists.     All  are  united,  however,  in  the 
belief  that  there  should  be  given  to  the  state  such  amount  of  control  as 
will  prevent  absolutely,  in  the  first  place,  the  issuance  of  bonds,  without 
adequate  security,  and  in  the  second  place,  power  to  enforce,  without 
any  delay,  reservation  or  hesitation,  the  prompt  and  complete  payment 
of  all  obligations  of  the  district.     These,  the  conference  conceives  to  be 
the    essential    matters,    and    therefore    has    not    attempted    to    make 
any  recommendation  with  regard  to  the  administrative  question  upon 
which  there  is  a  difference  of  opinion,  believing  that  time  will  work  out 
the  result  which  experience  shows  to  be  most  desirable.     Since  it  is 
proposed  that  the  state  shall  assume  somewhat  greater  responsibility  in 
financing  these  districts,  it  is  also  suggested  that  the  state  shall  have 
greater  power  in  supervising  the  expenditure  of  such  money. 

191.  The  conference,  however,  does  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  sug- 
gesting that  the  district  system  is  the  only  method  of  irrigation.     Un- 
questionably there  are  places  where  mutual  water  companies  can  be 
organized  to  advantage,  and  will  afford  a  somewhat  simpler  method  than 
the  district  system.    There  are  conditions  where  private  ownership  and 
the  sale  of  water  to  users  under  a  fixed  charge  may  afford  the  most  satis- 
factory and  efficient  method,  and  it  is  our  belief  that  the  laws  of  the 
state  should  be  so  liberal  as  to  give  the  greatest  possible  encouragement 
to  utilization  of  the  waters  for  irrigation  in  any  method  which  may  be 
found  most  convenient,  most  efficient,  or  most  economical. 

192.  We  believe  that,  to  a  very  considerable  extent,  the  future  pros- 
perity and  the  possibility  of  the  increased  prosperity  of  the  state  depends 
upon  the  utilization  of  its  water  supply ;  that  it  is  desirable,  so  far  as 
possible,  that  such  development  take  place  as  to  admit  of  the  most  com- 
plete use  of  the  water,  not  only  for  irrigation,  but  for  power  and  naviga- 
tion ;  and  that  it  is  possible  in  most  cases  so  to  coordinate  these  various 
uses  that  one  will  not  interfere  with  the  other. 


64  REPORT    OP    CONFERENCE 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Underground  Water. 

193.  The  question  of  irrigation  from  underground  water  is  of  increas- 
ing  importance.     In   round   numbers,   there   are   located   in   the    San 
Joaquin  Valley  alone  over  eight  million  acres  of  irrigable  land.     Just 
how  much  of  this  land  can  be  irrigated  from  surface  water  is  still  a  ques- 
tion, but  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  there  are  two  or  three  million  acres  in 
the  San  Joaquin  Valley  alone  which  will  have  to  depend,  either  entirely, 
or  to  a  very  great  extent,  for  irrigation  upon  pumping  from  under- 
ground water,  or  else  do  without  water.     South  of  the  Tehachapi  this 
method  of  irrigation  by  pumping  has  reached  a  larger  development  at 
the  present  than  north  of  the  Tehachapi,  but  conditions  indicate  that  in 
both  the  San  Joaquin  and  Sacramento  valleys  and  in  some  of  the  coast 
valleys,  the  pumping  question  is  of  increasing  importance.     Up  to  the 
present  time  the  legislature  has  not  attempted  to  define  the  right  of  users 
of  underground  water.     The  matter  has  been  left  to  the  courts  to  decide 
each  particular  case  upon  its  own  merits.     This  method  is  neither  just 
to  the  courts  nor  is  it  apt  to  be  wise  in  its  result.     It  is  not  right  that 
legislation  upon  matters  of  such  importance  should  be  forced  upon  the 
courts,  but  to  leave  the  matters  unsettled  by  the  legislature  is  to  compel 
judicial  legislation.     It  is  largely  owing  to  such  legislative  neglect  that 
the  very  unsatisfactory  condition  has  arisen  in  this  state  with  regard  to 
riparian  rights,  and  it  seems  very  important  that  at  this  time,  before 
any  serious  evil  has  resulted,  the  legislature  declare  clearly  the  basic 
principles  upon  which  the  right  to  underground  waters  shall  rest. 

194.  At  the  present  time,  so  far  as  the  matters  have  been  adjudicated, 
the  doctrine  seems  to  be  that  land  overlying  a  clearly  defined  body  of 
water  is  entitled,  as  between  all  the  landowners,  to  a  reasonable  use  of 
that  water.    It  would  appear  that  under  this  doctrine  it  might  be  pos- 
sible, if  the  water  was  insufficient  for  the  purpose  of  all  landowners,  so  to 
divide  the  supply  that  it  would  be  of  no  benefit  to  any  one.     The  doc- 
trine further  appears  to  be  that  no  one  has  a  right  to  pump  from  such 
underground  supply  and  convey  the  water  for  use  to  distant  land  to  the 
damage  present  or  prospective  of  any  landowner  whose  land  overlies  the 
supply  of  water,  unless  perhaps  such  right  may  have  been  acquired 
through  lapse  of  time,  or  by  neglect  under  the  doctrine  of  the  statute  of 
limitations  or  of  estoppel.    This  is  applying,  to  a  considerable  extent,  the 
doctrine  of  riparian  rights   (which  has  been  found  so  obnoxious)   to 
underground  waters,  and  probably  would  result  in  the  same  evil  which 
has  resulted  from  the  riparian  doctrine  as  to  streams,  namely,  a  failure, 
through  fear  of  consequences,  to  use  the  water  on  distant  lands,  accom- 


STATE   WATER   PROBLEMS.  65 

panied  with  the  failure  of  the  overlying  land  to  use  it  at  all,  and  thus 
prevent  the  utilization  of  what  otherwise  would  be  an  element  of  value 
to  the  entire  people. 

195.  The  further  condition  exists  with  regard  to  underground  water 
that  very  often  the  water  is  found  lying  under  land  of  comparatively 
little  value,  whereas  the  more  valuable  land  has  under  it  no  adequate 
supply  of  water,  and  if  this  doctrine  is  to  be  adhered  to,  the  land  really 
worth  irrigation  might  be  deprived  of  a  supply  of  water  which  would 
be  held  to  be  appurtenant  to  land  upon  which  the  use  of  water  would  be 
of  little  value. 

196.  With  reasonable  protection  to  the  owner  of  land  under  which 
there  is  the  supply  of  water  it  seems  eminently  proper  that  the  man 
who  first  has  the   energy   and  enterprise  to  develop   a  water  supply 
should  be  entitled  to  the  beneficial  use  of  that  water,  no  matter  where 
he  may  use  it,  and  that  it  is  not  in  accordance  with  sound  principles  of 
public  policy  to  permit  the  lethargy,  delay,  selfishness  or  ignorance  of  a 
landowner,  who  may  happen  to  have  water  lying  under  his  land,  to  pre- 
vent, practically  forever,  the  utilization  of  the  water. 

197.  The  conference  therefore  has  recommended  legislation  which  will 
recognize  the  doctrine  of  prior  appropriation  as  applied  to  underground 
water,  so  that  the  one  who  first  develops  it  shall  be  entitled  to  so  much 
water  as  is  necessary  for  the  beneficial  use  of  the  project  to  which  it  is 
applied. 

198.  The  conference  recommends,  however,  that  the  doctrine  of  appro- 
priation be  coupled  with  recognition,  so  far  as  practicable,  of  the  doc- 
trine of  reasonable  use,  so  that  the  prior  appropriator  shall  be  given  no 
right  to  insist  that  the  water  level  be  maintained  at  the  depth  to  which 
it  was  reduced  by  him,  and  that  subsequent  users  may  be  permitted  to 
pump  from  the  same  source  although  such  pumping  may  materially 
reduce  the  water  level,  so  long,  however,  as  that  level  is  not  reduced 
below  an  economic  depth.     It  is  believed  that  in  this  respect  an  elastic 
rule  should  be  established,  under  which  each  particular  case  may  be 
determined  upon  its  own  merits.     For  example,  it  is  feasible  to  pump 
to  a  much  greater  depth  for  citrus  fruit  than  it  would  be  for  alfalfa. 
No  arbitrary  rule  can  be  adopted. 

199.  In  order  to  effectuate  this  combined  doctrine  of  appropriation 
and  of  reasonable  use  it  has  been  considered  that  the  appropriation  of 
underground  water,  like  the  appropriation  of  surface  water,  should  be 
placed  under  the  control  of  the  State  Water  Commission,  but  that  no 
owner  of  land  of  160  acres  or  less,  should  be  compelled  to  apply  to  the 
Water  Commission  for  permission  to  develop  the  water  lying  under  his 


66  REPORT   OF    CONFERENCE 

own  land  for  use  upon  that  land,  and  that  the  owner  of  a  larger  tract 
should  be  permitted  to  develop  water  under  any  particular  160  acres 
thereof  for  use  upon  such  160  acres  by  filing  with  the  Water  Commission 
a  description  of  such  160  acres  and  his  intention  in  regard  thereto. 

200.  It  is  believed  that  this  legislation  will  admit  of  the  widest  possible 
and  most  efficient  use  of  underground  waters,  and  will  work  no  hardship 
upon  any  owner  of  land.  At  the  present  time  an  owner  of  land  who 
seeks  to  develop  underground  water  and  carry  it  from  the  place  of 
development  is  in  the  same  danger  as  the  owner  of  nonriparian  land  who 
seeks  to  appropriate  water  and  carry  it  for  the  irrigation  of  his  land. 
Each  of  them  after  the  expenditure  of  large  sums  of  money,  and  the 
development  of  expensive  improvements,  runs  the  risk  of  having  all  of 
his  labor  go  for  naught  because,  in  one  case,  the  owner  of  overlying  land, 
and  in  the  other,  a  riparian  proprietor,  may,  out  of  mere  maliciousness, 
insist  upon  his  right  that  the  water  shall  not  be  carried  to  distant  land. 


STATE   WATER    PROBLEMS.  67 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Reclamation. 

201.  The  reclamation  discussed  in  this  report  is  the  reclamation  of 
lands  subject  to  overflow  from  river  floods,  and  therefore  dependent 
on  flood  control.     The  reclamation  of  tide  and  marsh  lands  is  largely 
a  matter  of  drainage  and  tide  levees  with  which  it  is  not  necessary  to 
deal  specifically  in  this  report. 

202.  The  consideration  of  the  big  reclamation  problems  of  the  state 
offers  striking  demonstration  of  the  absolute  necessity,  in  connection 
with  each  such  problem,  for  the  formal  adoption  of  a  comprehensive 
plan,  and  the  creation  of  a  state  authority  which  can  force  all  localities 
to  so  handle  their  projects  that  one  shall  not  interfere  with  another. 
Some  of  the  principal  factors  of  these  problems  are  here  presented  in 
order   that   the   recommendations    of   the   conference   may   be   fairly 
weighed. 

203.  The  flood  problem  of  the  Sacramento  Valley  has  received  more 
careful  investigation  than  any  other,  and  a  study  of  the  data  available 
in  connection   with   it   furnishes   more   information   in  regard  to  the 
state  questions  involved  in  reclamation  than  can  be  found  elsewhere. 
The  Sacramento  problem  and  the  project  adopted  for  its  solution  are 
sufficiently  explained  in  Chapter  V,  "Flood  Problems  of  California" 
(Sec.  119)  and  Chapter  XII,  "Storage  for  Flood  Control"  (Sec.  258), 
and  in  the  authorities  quoted  therein.     A  reference  to  those  chapters 
will  make  clear  the  reclamation  phase  of  the  Sacramento  problem  to 
which  attention  is  now  directed. 

204.  The  flood  problem  of  the  Sacramento  has  been  created  partly 
by  deposits  of  mining  debris,  but  it  has  been  enlarged  and  complicated 
by  the  unrestricted  acts  of  individual   owners  and  reclamation  districts 
in  attempting  to  protect  their  lands  against  overflow.    What  is  said  in 
this  regard  applies  with  equal  force  to  conditions  in  the  San  Joaquin 
Valley  and  wherever  the  land  owner  must  protect  himself  by  levee 
against  inundation  from  flood  waters. 

205.  In  early  pioneer  days  reclamation  by  leveeing  commenced  along 
the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  rivers  and  in  the  joint  delta  of  the 
two  rivers.     On  the  Sacramento  the  richest  land  was  that  nearest  the 
river  bank,  and  it  was  also  the  highest  and  best  for  levee  construction, 
and  levees  in  consequence  were  built  close  to  the  river  bank,  thus  con- 
fining the  floods  to  a  narrow  channel.     On  the  San  Joaquin  River 
landowners  showed  a  more  intelligent  conception  of  the  problem  by 
building  levees  farther  back  from  the  bank,  and  conditions  somewhat 
favored  them  in  this  regard. 


68  REPORT   OF    CONFERENCE 

206.  Originally  the  Colusa,  Sutler,  American,  Yolo  and  Sacramento 
basins  served  as  detention  reservoirs  to  relieve  the  Sacramento  River 
channel  of  a  certain  portion  of  the  floods.     In  time  these  basins  were 
ensmalled,   or  entirely  closed  to  the  floods,  by  construction  of  river 
levees  for  reclamation  of  farming  land.     Every  levee  thus  built,  every 
reclamation    district    thus    created,    withdrew   more    or   less   reservoir 
capacity  which  had  theretofore  served  for  flood  relief.     When  "A" 
protected  his  land  by  a  levee  on  one  side  of  the  river  he  pushed  the 
water  over  on  to  the  land  of  his  neighbor  "  B, "  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river;  "B"  in  self-defense  also  built  a  levee,  which  forced  water  on  to 
"C"  and  back  on  to  "A";  and  each  reclamationist,  while  thus  leveeing 
against  his  neighbor,  was  also  raising  the  flood  plane  on  his  own  levees. 

207.  As  reclamation  increased  and  more  and  more  land  was  with- 
drawn from  overflow,  the  river  levees  had  to  be  steadily  raised  to  keep 
above  the  increased  volume  of  flood  forced  into  the   channel.     This 
reclamation  work  and  the  debris  deposits  necessitate  today  at  Sacra- 
mento City  levees  eight  to  twelve  feet  higher  than  were  needed  in  1860. 
It  was  quite  evident  therefore  that  the  time  must  come  under  existing 
conditions,  when  the  river  levees,  to  prevent  inundation,  would  have 
to  be  so  high,  and  therefore  so  wide  at  the  base  and  so  expensive,  as 
to  exceed  for  construction  and  maintenance  in  some  cases,  any  possible 
value  of  the  land  itself.    Every  district  and  every  landowner,  too,  was 
dependent  for  safety  as  much  on  the  levees  of  his  neighbors,  above  and 
below  him,  as  upon  his  own  levees,  and  he  had  no  power  to  ensure 
construction  and  maintenance  of  proper  levees  by  those  neighbors. 

208.  The  state  law  in  regard  to   reclamation,   as  declared  by  the 
Supreme  Court  in  various  cases,  is  in  effect  that  a  landowner  has  the 
right  to  protect  his  own  property  against  the  common  enemy,  flood 
waters,  by  leveeing,  even  if  in  so  doing  he  forces  them  on  to  a  neigh- 
bor's land;  but  he  may  not  divert  drainage  waters  on  to  a  neighbor's 
land,  though  he  may  conduct  them  out  of  their  natural  channel,  around 
or  through  his  own  property,  and  back  again  into  the  natural  channel, 
provided,  in  so  doing,   the  property  of  his  neighbor  is  not  injured. 
For  sixty  years  reclamation  in  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  valleys 
has  been  prosecuted  in  accord  with  the  principle  thus  enunciated. 

209.  Manifestly  the  system  of  individual  levee  building  by  which 
each  owner,  in  enclosing  his  own  land,  forced  water  upon  his  neighbor 
and  ultimately  raised  the  flood  plane  against  his  own  levees,  could 
not  indefinitely  continue.     The  amount  of  expense  involved  in  keeping 
levees  above  the  rising  flood  plane,  the  losses  sustained  by  frequent 
inundation,  some  due  to  poor  levees  or  careless  maintenance  in  adjoin- 
ing district,  and  some  due  to  the  volume  of  flood  which  no  levees  could 
confine  to  the  narrow  channel  provided,  grew  to  enormous  proportions. 


STATE   WATER   PROBLEMS.  69 

Reelamationists,  who  had  consistently  fought  each  other  for  fifty  years 
while  the  floods  destroyed  their  property,  finally  realized  that  safety 
could  be  secured  only  by  joint  action  against  the  common  enemy.  Thus 
there  came  about  cordial  endorsement  and  prompt  acquiescence  when 
the  United  States  government  formulated  a  comprehensive  plan  under 
which  reclamation,  as  well  as  navigation,  might  be  conserved.  It  was 
certain  reclamationists  who  asked  the  legislature  to  confer  upon  the 
State  Reclamation  Board  those  very  drastic  powers  which  enable  it  to 
compel  all  landowners  to  conform  to  the  general  plan,  and  to  prevent 
any  individual  from  creating  general  danger  or  precipitating  disaster 
through  obstinacy,  carelessness  or  neglect. 

210.  The  great  interest  of  reclamation  in  the  Sacramento  project  is 
explained  when  it  is  understood  that  the  project  provides  for  auto- 
matically discharging  excess  floods  of  the  river  channel  as  soon  as  the 
flood  plane  reaches  a  fixed  height,  so  that  districts  and  landowners  can 
build  permanent  levees  and  know  they  will  not  have  to  raise  them  in  a 
few  years;   that  authority  is  reposed   in  some  one  to  force   all — the 
willing  and  the  unwilling,  the  careless  and  the  obstinate — to  so  handle 
their  reclamation  that  the  general  interest  may  not  be  jeopardized; 
and  that  the  expense  for  that  part  of  the  work  for  which  reclamation 
is  to  pay  is  assessed  on  lands  benefited  thereby,  in  proportion  to  bene- 
fits received. 

211.  The  Sacramento  project  is  primarily  a  flood  control  project; 
but  in  providing  for  flood  control  and  thereby  preserving  navigation  it 
incidentally  directly  reclaims  a  great  deal  of  rich  land,  and  provides 
conditions  under  which  other  lands — not  otherwise  reclaimable — can 
be  reclaimed  by  construction  of  the  necessary  works.     The  acreage  of 
rich  river  lands  in  the  Sacramento  Valley  thus  benefited,  including 
those  now  reclaimed  but  whose  reclamation  will  be  made  safe,  those 
nowr  unreclaimed  but  which  will  be  reclaimed  by  the  project  levees, 
and    those    unreclaimed    whose    reclamation    will    be    made    possible, 
amounts  to  1,250,000  acres.     In  addition  there  is  a  large  acreage  in 
the  San  Joaquin  Valley  menaced  by  Sacramento  River  floods  which 
will  benefit  materially  by  completion  of  the  project.    It  is  quite  proper 
that  the  land  benefited  shall  pay  a  fair  proportion  of  the  expense ;  and 
it  is  called  upon  to  pay  all  cost  of  the  project  in  excess  of  $11,200,000, 
the  share  declared  by  the  federal  engineers  to  be  properly  chargeable 
to  commerce  and  navigation.    That  excess  amounts  to  about  $30,000,000, 
a  considerable  portion  of  which  has  already  been  expended. 

212.  The  physical  conditions  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  so  far  as 
they  affect  reclamation,  are  somewhat  similar  to  those  which  exist  in 
the  Sacramento,  making  allowance  for  a  flood  volume  about  one-fourth 
as  large  and  a  valley  floor  over  twice  as  extensive.     The  difference  in 


70  REPORT   OF   CONFERENCE 

those  conditions  is  explained  elsewhere  is  this  report.  (Chapter  V.) 
The  position  of  the  reelamationist  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  is  differ- 
ent for  this  reason ;  there  is  not  yet  a  comprehensive  plan  of  flood 
control  formulated  for  the  valley.  Snch  a  plan  will  probably  be  ready 
for  consideration  next  year,  and  it  is  the  apparent  intention  of  the 
present  Reclamation  Board  Act  that,  when  such  plan  has  been  formally 
adopted  by  the  state  and  congress,  it  shall  be  pushed  to  completion 
under  cooperation,  in  the  same  way  that  the  Sacramento  project  is 
now  being  pushed.  The  act  now  gives  authority  to  the  Reclamation 
Board  to  pass  on  all  plans  of  reclamation  in  that  part  of  the  San 
Joaquin  Valley  included  in  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  Drainage 
District,  extending  south  almost  to  Fresno,  and  no  reclamation  work 
therein  may  be  done  without  the  board's  approval.  But  in  passing  on 
any  private  reclamation  plans,  the  board  is  handicapped  by  the  absence 
of  a  state  plan  for  the  valley,  and  in  consequence  can  only  grant  authori- 
zations subject  to  such  changes  as  may  hereafter  appear  to  be  necessary 
when  a  flood  control  project  for  the  valley  shall  have  been  adopted. 
There  are  certain  portions  of  the  valley,  too,  notably  the  Tulare  Lake 
District,  not  under  general  jurisdiction  of  the  Reclamation  Board,  and 
where,  in  consequence,  local  friction  militates  against  early  adoption 
of  comprehensive  reclamation  plans. 

213.  Reclamation  is  concerned  in  the  flood  control  of  the  Colorado 
River  because  of  the  danger  to  the  rich  Imperial  Valley  and  other  lands 
along  the  river  as  elsewhere  explained.     (See  Chapter  V.) 

214.  The  character  of  the  Los  Angeles  River  is  different.     There  are 
absent  the  swamp  lands  and  low  river  bottoms  subject  to  overflow,  and 
which  can  be  protected  only  by  levee ;  but  there  are,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  rich  orchards  which  are  actually  washed  away  by  the  torrential 
floods  sweeping  down  the  river's  course  and  overrunning  its  banks. 
And  these  waters  must  in  some  way  be  kept  away  from  the  orchards,  as 
they  are  from  alluvial  bottoms  on  other  rivers. 

Suggested   Remedies  for  Existing   Evils. 

215.  The  past  five  years  experience  in  connection  with  reclamation 
on  the  Sacramento  River  has  furnished  lessons  which  are  being  heeded 
by  reclamation  interests  throughout  the  state,  and  which  furnish  in 
large  part  the  basis  for  the   recommendations   of  the   conference  in 
connection  therewith.     Landowners  who  have  fought  each  other  for 
many  years  in  the  Sacramento  Valley  now  agree  that  success  and  com- 
mon safety  can  be  secured  only  by  a  comprehensive  plan,  and  under 
state  authority,  with  such  powers  as  can  force  compliance  with  the 
adopted  plan  on  the  part  of  all  individuals. 

216.  The  conference  recommends  that  the  necessary  authority  referred 
to  be  reposed  in  a  State  Flood  Control  Board,  which  shall  take  over  the 


STATE    WATER    PROBLEMS.  71 

duties  of  the  present  State  Reclamation  Board;  that  it  be  given  state- 
wide jurisdiction  in  all  matters  of  flood  control,  reclamation  and 
drainage;  that  all  reclamation  districts  be  required  to  submit  their 
plans  to  it  for  approval  and  to  be  under  its  control  so  far  as  concerns 
construction  and  maintenance  of  flood  control  works;  that  the  districts 
themselves  be  encouraged  to  administer  their  own  internal  affairs  and 
construct  their  own  works  under  general  state  law  looking  to  efficient 
administration ;  but  that  the  board  may  enforce  construction,  or  itself 
construct,  works  necessary  for  general  protection  and  neglected  by 
the  proper  district  or  authority.  The  conference  further  recommends 
that  the  creation  of  individual  reclamation  districts  by  special  legislative 
act  be  no  longer  permitted,  and  that  new  districts  be  forced  to  organize 
under  general  state  law  in  compliance  with  the  conditions  and  subject 
to  the  supervision  and  approval  therein  provided;  and  that  any 
change  in  the  present  law  required  to  make  such  special  legislative  act 
unnecessary  in  certain  cases  be  made. 

217.  In   the   existing   plan   for   the    Sacramento   and   San  Joaquin 
Drainage  District  there  have  developed  these  grave  defects :  The  assess- 
ment plan,  modeled  on  that  which  obtains  in  reclamation  districts,  is 
cumbersome  and  expensive,  and  involves  great  delay;  there  is  no  pro- 
vision for  bonding,  and  assessments  must  be  paid  in  cash  before  the 
land  is  reclaimed  and  prepared  for  cropping,  such  assessments  being 
frequently  several  times  the  actual  value  of  the  unreclaimed  land  and 
beyond  the  resources  of  the  owner  to  pay;  in  the  practical  operation 
of  the  present  Reclamation  Board  Act  it  has  been  demonstrated  that 
the  plan  of  constructing  the  project  by  units  and  levying  assessments 
accordingly,  as  required  by  section  13  of  the  act,  will  not  in  many 
cases  permit  a  fair  apportionment  of  the  expense  in  accordance  with 
the  benefits  to  be  secured  from  the  completed  project. 

218.  In  view  of  these  conditions  the  conference  recommends  that  the 
financing  of  the  Sacramento  Flood  Control  project  be  so  changed  as  to 
conform  to  the  following  plan,  which,  though  open  to  some  objections, 
has  decided  merit  as  compared  to  the  present  one.     The  same  recom- 
mendations may  apply  if  desired,  to  the  San  Joaquin  flood  control 
project  when  it  has  been  formulated,  and  to  other  projects  involving 
the  element  of  reclamation  or  protection  to  lands. 

(a)  Provide  for  a  bond  issue  of  the  district  sufficient  to  cover 
the  entire  cost  of  the  project,  including  not  only  the  work  to  be 
done,  but  also  what  has  already  been  done  in  conformity  with  the 
plans. 

(&)  During  the  period  of  construction  of  the  project — say  for 
five  or  ten  years — let  the  interest  on  the  bonds  be  paid  out  of  the 
bond  fund  itself;  also  payment  of  installments  on  the  principal  of 


72  REPORT   OP    CONFERENCE 

the  bonds  should  not  commence  until  the  project  has  been  com- 
pleted. Thus,  the  land  will  not  be  called  upon  to  pay  anything 
until  it  has  received  the  benefit  to  be  paid  for. 

(c)  Levy  one  main  assessment  to  be  collected  in  installments,  as 
required  for  payment  of  the  bonds. 

(d)  Apportion  and  spread  the  assessment  over  the  lands  bene- 
fited in  proportion  to  benefits  received,  only  after  the  project  has 
been   completed,   when   those   benefits   can   be   defined  with  least 
question. 

(e)  Allow  each  landowner  credit  against  his  assessment  for  any 
amount  he  may  have  paid  in  for  construction  under  any  previous 
assessment.    Allow  credit  also  to  any  landowner  or  district  for  the 
value  of  levees  or  other  work  done  at  his  or  its  expense  in  the 
past    and    utilized    as   part    of   the    comprehensive   flood    control 
project.     (The  present  act  allows  credit  for  construction  done  by 
individuals  or  districts  since  passage  of  the  act,  but  not  for  previous 
construction. ) 

(f)  Base  the  benefits  received  by  any  tract  of  land  generally 
upon  the  difference  between  the  value  of  such  land,  as  fixed  by  the 
county  assessor,  before  construction  of  the  project,  and  the  value  of 
the  land  as  fixed  by  the  county  assessor  after  completion  of  the 
project. 

(g)  Let  the  Reclamation  Board,  or  its  successor,  sitting  as  a 
board  of  equalization,  pass  upon  special  cases,  where  there  may  be 
contributing    causes    for    the    increase    in    value    of    land    other 
than   reclamation ;    or   where   there   are   elements   of   benefit   not 
properly  represented  in  the  assessment. 

(h)  Let  the  State  Board  of  Equalization  on  appeal  from  a 
sufficient  number  of  owners  in  any  county,  determine  whether  an 
injustice  has  been  done  by  the  assessor  in  any  county  by  making- 
assessments  prior  to  the  inauguration  of  the  project  too  high,  or  by 
making  assessments  subsequent  to  completion  thereof  too  low,  so 
that  the  difference  may  not  fairly  represent  the  benefits  received 
by  lands  in  that  county,  and  thus  throw  an  additional  burden  on 
other  counties.  In  such  case  let  the  State  Board  of  Equalization 
have  power  to  raise  or  lower  the  assessment  value  on  all  lands 
within  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  Drainage  District  in  any 
county  by  a  certain  percentage,  for  purposes  of  the  flood  control 
project  assessment  only. 

(i)  Let  the  collection  of  assessments  to  meet  principal  and 
interest  be  made  through  the  machinery  of  the  county  tax  col- 
lector's office,  and  the  bonds  of  the  district  be  underlaid  by  the 
bonds  of  the  state  as  fully  explained  in  Chapter  XVII,  "State 
Aid  in  Interest  of  Conservation"  (Sec.  318). 

219.  As  the  plan  above  recommended  can  not  be  made  operative  for 
two — and  possibly  four — years,  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin 
Drainage  District  will  be  at  a  most  serious  disadvantage  in  the  mean- 
while unless  the  legislature  provides  means  by  which  the  district  can 
issue  bonds. 


STATE   WATER   PROBLEMS.  73 

220.  In  the  great  acreage  of  rich  land  which  can  be  permanently 
reclaimed  for  intensive  cultivation  and  settlement,  and  in  the  safety 
of  established  cities  in  districts  subject  to  overflow,  the  state  has  cer- 
tainly sufficient  direct  interest  to  justify  the  policy  of  state  aid'  sug- 
gested in  Chapter  XVII  of  this  report,  and  the  creation  of  a  state 
authority  with  power  to  standardize  reclamation  projects  and  save 
the  reclamationist  from  his  neighbor  as  well  as  from  himself,  as  outlined 
in  Chapter  III. 


74  REPORT   OP   CONFERENCE 

CHAPTER  X. 

Inland  Waterways. 

221.  The  Water  Problems  Conference,  by  formal  resolution  at  its 
session  March  24,   1916,   pronounced  inland  navigation   as  "of  vital 
importance  in  the  development  of  resources  of  the  state,"  and  declared 
that  "if  in  the  future  it  should  appear  necessary  to  take  out  of  a  navig- 
able stream  for  irrigation  so  much  of  its  flow  as  to  endanger  navigation, 
then  if  such  navigation  be  necessary  in  the  state's  interest  for  insur- 
ing profitable  markets  for  the  products  of  irrigation,  navigation  should 
be  maintained  by  canalization."     Further  investigation  by  the  confer- 
ence has  furnished  striking  evidence  of  the  unusual  opportunities  offered 
by  California  for  development  of  inland  waterways  and  of  the  important 
part  they  can  play  in  utilization  of  the  state's  resources,  and  in  promot- 
ing its  growth  in  commerce  and  population. 

222.  For  any  necessary  details  as  to  the  general  advantages  to  be 
secured  from  inland  waterways,  the  experience  had  therewith  in  this  and 
in  other  countries,  the  low  freight  rates  secured  thereby   in  certain 
localities  in  California,  the  conditions  in  this  state  which  lend  themselves 
to  development  of  an  inland  waterways  system,  and  the  part  such  water- 
ways  play   in   commercial   development,   reference   is   had   to   Appen- 
dix "A"  to  this  report,  "The  Economic  Value  of  Inland  Waterways 
to  California."     (Sec.  352.) 

223.  It  is  only  necessary  to  suggest  here  that  such  waterways  offer 
generally  the  advantage  of  lower  rates  than  rail  transportation ;  a  safe- 
guard against  monopoly  or  control  of  transportation  so  long  as  an  indi- 
vidual can  own  a  gasoline  launch  and  a  tow  barge ;  and  the  opportunity, 
through  low  rates  to  tide  water,  to  place  products  of  the  interior  in  the 
hold  of  ocean  going  steamers  bound  for  world  markets,  and  thus  make 
profitable   the   intensive   cultivation   of  the   interior,   with  increase   in 
population  and  wealth.     Ninety  per  cent  of  all  the  commeice  between 
Sacramento  and  San  Francisco,  and  between  Stockton  and  San  Fran- 
cisco is  carried  by  water  at  35  per  cent  lass  than  rail  rates;  Napa  and 
Petaluma,  because  of  their  location  on  small  streams  emptying  into  San 
Francisco  Bay,  enjoy  low  freight  rates ;  above  Sacramento  City  on  Sacra- 
mento River,  farmers  have  their  produce  hauled  ten  miles  to  the  river 
by  truck  and  then  by  barge  to  warehouse  and  market  at  20  per  cent  less 
than  rail  rates ;  and  similar  advantages  could  possibly  be  secured  by  an 
adequate  inland  waterway  system  for  most  points  in  the  Sacramento  and 
San  Joaquin  valleys.    It  must  be  remembered  that  in  all  these  cases  the 
rail  rates  would  probably  be  much  higher  were  there  no  water  communi- 
cation.    (Sees.  350-354.) 


STATE   WATER   PROBLEMS.  75 

224.  In  considering  the  possible  benefits  to  the  state  in  increased  com- 
merce, wealth  and  population  to  follow  in  the  wake  of  the  establishment 
of  an  adequate  inland  waterways  system,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  in 
nearly  all  instances  furnished  by  other  countries  and  other  states  of 
surprising  growth  from  use  of  canals  (Sees.  340—349),  such  localities  are 
unable  to  utilize  this  method  of  transportation  during  certain  months 
because  of  ice;  while  in  California  there  would  be  no  interruption  to 
navigation  during  the  year. 

225.  Gauged  by  standards  well  established  by  the  experience  of  other 
countries   and   other   states,    California   is   ideally   situated,   enjoying 
natural  advantages  far  beyond  those  to  be  found  in  any  other  state  of 
the  Union,  and  apparently  justifying  a  large  investment  of  capital  in 
improving  and  extending  her  waterways.     The  situation  seems  to  merit 
at  least  the  fullest  investigation. 

226.  She  has,  entirely  within  her  borders,  and  subject,  therefore,  to 
no  interstate  complications  in  the  matter  of  control,  two  fine  rivers,  the 
Sacramento  and  the  San  Joaquin,  which  must  necessarily  serve  as  the 
arteries  of  any  inland  waterway  system.     The  first  of  these  furnishes  at 
present  all-year  navigation  for  light  craft  boat  up  to  Chico  Landing, 
263  miles  from  the  sea,  and  for  heavier  draft  boats  to  Sacramento;  the 
latter  has  a  9-foot  channel  all  the  year  round  up  to  Stockton,  105  miles 
from  the  sea. 

227.  These  rivers,  for  the  distances  indicated,  would  be  permanently 
safeguarded  for  navigation  by  completion  of  the  Sacramento  flood  con- 
trol project  now  under  way.     In  the  event  of  further  withdrawal  of 
water  from  the   stream   for  purposes  of   irrigation,   as   discussed  in 
Chapter  XI,  "Kelation  between  Navigation  and  Irrigation"  (Sees.  254, 
255),  such  withdrawal  would  not  endanger  navigation  up  to  Sacramento 
City  on  one  river,  or  up  to  Stockton  on  the  other.     Canalization  could 
care  for  the  upper  portions  of  the  streams,  and  could  be  so  extended  as 
to  cover  the  balance  of  the  two  valleys — assuming  that  the  expense  of 
such  canalization  would  be  justified  by  the  results,  immediate  or  prospec- 
tive. 

228.  On  the  floor  of  the  two  valleys  drained  by  these  two  rivers  lies 
an  empire  of  upwards  of  10,000,000  acres,  capable  under  intensive  culti- 
vation of  producing  enormous  crops  of  high  value.     Cheap  water  trans- 
portation to  tide  water  would  be  a  stimulus  to  the  rapid  development  of 
these  valleys.     Intensive  cultivation  of  all  this  territory  would  mean  a 
rapid  and  wonderful  growth  in  the  population,  wealth  and  commerce  of 
the  state,  and  without  it  the  progress  of  the  state  must  be  necessarily 
retarded.     (Sec.  372.) 

229.  With  the  ship  canal  from  Sacramento  City  to  tide  water,  sug- 
gest (H!  by  the  State  Engineering  Department,  which  can  be  constructed 


76  REPORT   OF    CONFERENCE 

apparently  at  a  comparatively  insignificant  figure,  there  could  be  estab- 
lished, 122  miles  from  the  sea,  munition  factories,  docks  and  shipyards, 
with  ready  access  thereto  by  the  largest  warship.  (Sec.  374.) 

230.  Stockton,  it  is  understood,  could  be  similarly  connected  with  tide 
water   by   ship   canal,   though   the   difficulties   and   expense   would   be 
greater  because  of  the  necessity  of  crossing  certain  silt-bearing  streams. 

231.  San  Jose  could  be  made  a  deep  water  port  by  a  canal  from  San 
Francisco  Bay,  and  the  products  of  the  Santa  Clara  Valley  loaded  direct 
into  the  hold  of  ocean  going  steamers. 

232.  Investigation  by  the  State  Engineering  Department  shows  that 
200  second  feet  of  water  can  be  secured  by  proper  drainage  of  water- 
logged lands  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  and  that  this  amount  of  water 
would  operate  a  system  of  lock  canals  for  the  valley. 

233.  It  is  not  sufficient,  however,  to  have  inland  waterways  in  order 
to  insure  such  prompt  and  economic  movement  of  crops  and  material  as 
will  secure  the  greatest  advantage  and  the  greatest  development.    There 
must  be  provided  at  proper  points  along  such  waterways,  the  necessary 
docks  and  warehouses,  and  facilities  for  rapidly  and  cheaply  loading  and 
unloading.    It  is  only  in  this  way  that  the  full  economic  value  of  inland 
waterways  can  be  secured.     The  methods  still  followed  along  the  Cali- 
fornia waterways  are  largely  those  of  pioneer  days,  entirely  at  variance 
with  modern  labor-saving  methods  and  necessarily  adding  greatly  to  the 
cost  per  ton  of  transportation.     Germany,  in  providing  for  opening  of 
canals  and  waterways,  forces  the  cities  which  will  be  benefited  thereby 
to  provide  proper  harbors  and  the  necessary  facilities  for  loading  and 
unloading  which  will  secure  most  economic  efficiency.     California  can 
well  follow  Germany's  example  in  both  matters. 

234.  If  it  is  true  that  transportation  by  water  can  be  rendered  at 
much  less  cost  than  by  rail,  then  railroads,  even  under  the  best  railroad 
and  interstate  commissions,  can  not  ensure  railroad  rates  which  will 
justify  abandonment  of  waterways ;  for  such  commissions  quite  properly 
base  the  rates  allowed  on  the  cost  of  service  to  the  operating  company. 

235.  Just  how  far  California  will  feel  justified  in  expending  moneys 
in  improvement  of  inland  waterways  will  depend  partly  upon  the  basis 
of  comparison  between  rail  rates  and  water  rates.     Rail  rates  necessarily 
include,  in  addition  to  profit,  elements  representing  the  original  invest- 
ment and  the  cost  of  maintenance  and  operation ;  water  rates  on  open 
waterways  include  only  allowance  for  depreciation  and  operation  of 
craft    (corresponding   to   rolling   stock).     On   canals   where   tolls   are 
charged,  the  toll  becomes  a  part  of  the  rate,  but  perhaps  rarely  repre- 
sents a  commensurate  proportion  of  the  canal's  original  cost  and  main- 
tenance. 

236.  California  therefore  might  determine  that  she  would  not  embark 
upon  a  policy  of  providing  extensive  inland  waterways  unless  it  were 


STATE    WATER   PROBLEMS.  77 

demonstrated  that  an  allowance  for  the  cost  thereof,  plus  the  charges  for 
maintenance  and  operation,  could  be  included  in  the  rate  charged  for 
water  freight,  and  still  produce,  for  the  commerce  carried,  a  rate  which 
would  be  lower  per  ton  per  mile  than  that  charged  for  similar  service 
on  the  competing  railroads.  Or,  she  might  determine  that  her  policy  in 
ujitorways  would  be  similar  to  that  which  she  follows  for  wagon  roads; 
she  would  provide  open  water  highways  and  maintain  them,  and  permit 
the  public  to  utilize  them  in  their  own  craft,  for  their  pleasure  and  their 
business,  and  in  competition  with  existing  railroads.  Good  wagon  roads 
are  enabling  motor  trucks  and  jitneys  to  compete  with  railroads,  in 
certain  localities,  in  transportation  of  both  passengers  and  freight. 
That  condition  is  not  likely  to  disappear.  Open  waterways  maintained 
by  the  state  would  offer  similar  advantages  to  the  public  in  the  use  of 
water  craft ;  but  they  would  ultimately  increase  the  business  of  the  rail- 
roads by  providing  cheap  transportation  for  raw  material  and  food 
products,  thereby  encouraging  factories  and  building  up  communities 
whose  transportation  for  business  and  pleasure  would  be  supplied  in 
greater  part  by  the  railroad.  It  is  the  latter  policy  of  open  water  high- 
ways maintained  by  the  state  which  the  conference  recommends,  if  it  be 
found  economically  practicable. 

237.  If  then  a  further  development  of  inland  waterways  would  aid  in 
opening  up  for  California  products,  world  markets  not  otherwise  avail- 
able, and  such  development  can  be  accomplished  at  a  cost  justified  by 
the  result,  it  would  be  a  short-sighted  state  policy  that  would  not  develop 
the  waterways.     In  the  absence  of  the  necessary  exact  data  the  con- 
ference can  not  make  a  more  definite  recommendation ;  but  the  possi- 
bilities justify  its  suggestion  that  the  facts  covered  in  the  Appendix  "A" 
hereto  be  carefully  considered  as  foundation  for  an  exhaustive  inquiry 
into  the  subject  which  should  include  necessary  surveys  and  estimates 
to  determine  the  feasibility  and  cost  of  canalization  of  the  two  great 
valleys. 

238.  The  value  of  an  adequate  inland,  waterways  system  to  the  state 
can  best  be  determined  by  careful  consideration  of  the  principles  indi- 
cated in  this  chapter  and  in  Appendix  "  A  " ;  by  reference  to  the  exper- 
ience of  other  countries  and  other  states ;  by  study  of  the  state 's  present 
waterways  and  the  possibilities  in  the  way  of  development,  and  the  cost 
thereof;  and  by  knowledge  of  the  territory  which  could  be  served  by 
waterway   extension   and  the  development  possible  in  such  territory 
under  intensive  cultivation  and  with  certainty  of  access  to  profitable 
markets.     The  conference  believes  that  California  should  ascertain  with- 
out delay  the  cost  involved  in  developing  inland  navigation  along  lines 
suggested,  and  then  fix  a  definite  policy  in  regard  thereto,  looking  to 
securing  as  much  advantage  for  her  existing  and  possible  waterways  as 
is  economically  justified. 


78  REPORT   OF   CONFERENCE 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Relation  Between  Navigation  and  Irrigation, 

239.  The  interests  of  navigation  and  of  irrigation  become  antagonistic 
when  irrigation,  in  order  to  grow  crops,  must  take  its  supply  from  a 
navigable  waterway,  the  navigation  of  which  will  be  impaired  thereby. 
In  view  of  certain  considerations  of  state  interest  set  forth  in  Chap- 
ter X,  on  "Inland  Waterways"   (Sec.  221),  it  would  be  most  unfor- 
tunate should  conditions  force  a  policy  resulting  in  permanent  impair- 
ment of  the  navigability  of  California's  two  great  rivers.     At  the  same 
time  there  has  gradually  grown  up  a  well-defined  public  sentiment  to 
the  effect  that  irrigation  is  a  higher  use  of  water  than  navigation  and 
should  have  preference  where  the  two  clash.     This  is  on  the  theory  that 
navigation  has  little  value  if  there  are  no  crops  to  move,  while  irrigation 
is  conceded  to  be  necessary  in  many  places  to  grow  the  crop,  and  in 
most  to  insure  its  best  development.     There  is  the  further  consideration 
that  in  a  channel  like  that  of  the  Sacramento  River,  with  capacity  to 
carry  much  flood  water,  it  becomes  necessary  at  low  stages,  in  preserva- 
tion of  navigation,  to  use  many  times  the  quantity  of  water  which  would 
be  sufficient  to  float  the  commerce  if  confined  in  a  smaller  channel;  and 
this  excess,  all  of  which  could  be  utilized  for  irrigation,  is  wasted  in 
flow  to  the  sea. 

240.  In  passing  upon  this  problem  the  conference  has  unanimously 
declared  it  to  be  its  judgment  that  where  the  interests  of  irrigation 
and  inland  navigation  can  not  be  harmonized,  irrigation  should  have 
preference ;  but  if  it  should  appear  necessary  to  take  out  of  a  navigable 
stream  so  much  of  its  flow  as  to  endanger  navigation,  then  if  such 
navigation  be  necessary  in  the  state  interest  for  insuring  profitable 
markets  for  the  products  of  irrigation,  navigation  should  be  maintained 
by  canalization.     For  the  purpose  of  relieving,  so  far  as  possible,  the 
demands  of  irrigation  upon  navigable  waterways,  as  well  as  for  other 
reasons,  the  conference  strongly  urges  that  where  practical,  flood  con- 
trol problems  be  solved  by  storage  and  that  such  storage,  by  cooperation 
with  other  interests,  be  turned  to  beneficial  use. 

241.  The  menace  offered  to  navigation  by  the  demands  of  irrigation 
in  this  state  is  much  more  imminent  than  is  generally  believed.     In  the 
San  Joaquiri  Valley,  where  there  is  more  land  to  irrigate  and  less 
supply  of  water  than  in  the  Sacramento  Valley,  diversion  of  water  for 
irrigation  from  the  tributaries  of  the  San  Joaquin  River  has  practically 
put  an  end  to  navigation  in  that  river  above  the  city  of  Stockton, 
though  the  river  is  navigable  at  all  seasons  for  light  draft  boats  for 
15  miles  beyond  that  point,  and  at  high  stages  for  40  miles  farther 


STATE   WATER   PROBLEMS.  79 

upstream.  In  1911  the  United  States  engineer  office  at  San  Francisco 
under  direction  of  congress  made  an  investigation  of  the  upper  San 
Joa<|uin  and  advised  against  any  improvement  thereof  for  these  out- 
lined reasons : 

(a)  The  flow  of  the  river  is  insufficient  to  properly  provide  for 
the  requirements  of  irrigation  and  navigation. 

(b)  Under  conditions  obtaining  in  the  valley  greater  benefit  can 
be   derived    from    the    use    of   the   water   for   irrigation   than   for 
navigation. 

(c)  The  navigation  periods  that  might  be  secured  by  any  form 
of  improvement  of  this  river  would  be  too  short  to  permit  of  the 
development  of  a  volume  of  water  traffic  commensurate  with  the 
cost  of  the  improvement. 

These  findings  may  or  may  not  be  modified  after  consideration  of  the 
report  of  surveys  of  the  valley  recently  completed  by  state  and  national 
cooperation. 

The  Sacramento's   Receding   Navigation. 

'242.  In  the  Sacramento  Valley,  notwithstanding  the  great  quantities 
of  water  and  the  limited  use  thus  far  made  thereof,  it  is  gradually 
becoming  apparent  that  the  state  must,  in  the  course  of  some  time, 
decide  definitely  and  permanently  between  the  interests  of  irrigation 
and  channel  navigation  in  the  upper  part  of  the  valley. 

243.  So   far  as  concerns  navigation  in   the  upper   Sacramento  the 
situation  already  has  assumed  a  grave  aspect.     As  explained  in  Chapter 
X,  on  "Inland  Waterways,"  the  river  is  no  longer  navigable  for  any 
considerable   annual  period  even   for  light   draft  boats    (drawing   18 
inches)    above  Chico  Landing,   while  between  that  point  and  Colusa 
regular  navigation  is  limited  to  one  or  two  trips  per  week. 

244.  There  are  certain  portions  of  the  upper  Sacramento  River  in 
which  navigation  can  be  maintained  with  very  much  less  water  than 
in  other  sections.     For  instance,  from  the  Tisdale  Weir  (about  43  miles 
above  the  mouth  of  the  Feather)   down  past  Knights  Landing  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Feather,  the  Sacramento  is  narrow  and  deep,  untroubled 
by  mining  debris  and  with  a  channel  capacity  of  only  25,000  second  feet. 
Above  Tisdale  Weir  and  up  to  Colusa  the  channel  is  wider,  with  over 
double  the  capacity  named,  but  of  similar  character.     Below  the  mouth 
of  the  Feather,  and  down  to  Sacramento  City,  the  stream,  while  its 
present  capacity  is  three  times  that  named,  has  been  seriously  injured 
by  mining  deposits,  and  is  wide  and  shallow,  requiring  much  greater 
quantity  of  water  to  maintain  navigation. 

245.  The  amount  of  flow  necessary  to  be  maintained  in  the  upper 
Sacramento  River  for  navigation  has  never  been  officially  determined 
by  the  War  Department,  but,  based  upon  the  approved  recommendations 


80  REPORT   OF   CONFERENCE 

of  a  4-foot  depth  of  channel  from  Sacramento  City  to  Colusa  and 
three  feet  above  Colusa,  the  district  engineer's  office  at  San  Francisco 
has  estimated,  in  a  general  way,  that  the  following  amount  of  flow 
would  be  necessary  in  different  sections  of  the  river :  From  Sacramento 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Feather,  5,000  second  feet ;  thence  to  Colusa,  4,000 
(T>,400  would  be  better)  ;  thence  to  Chico  Landing,  5,000  (6,000  would 
be  better)  ;  thence  to  Red  Bluff,  8,000. 

246.  The  low  water  flow  of  the  river  has  varied  at  Bed  Bluff  from 
3,980  second  feet  in  1903  to  4,605  feet  in  1908,  while  below  the  mouth 
of  the  Feather  it  was  5,700  feet  in  1913  and  6,300  in  1908.     There  is 
noted   in   comparison  of   the   figures   given   the  very   narrow   margin 
existing  between  the  actual  low  water  flow,  and  the  flow  required  for 
navigation.     This   furnishes   sufficient    explanation   of   the    difficulties 
already  encountered  in  the  navigation  of  the  upper  section  of  the  river. 
It  must  be  evident  that  future  increased  withdrawals  for  irrigation 
must  further  complicate  the  problem. 

247.  Withdrawal  of  water  for  any  purpose  from  a  navigable  water- 
way is  not  permissible  under  the  law  save  with  consent  of  the  War 
Department,  which  controls  such  waterways  in  the  interests  of  naviga- 
tion and  commerce.     Congress  granted  directly  permission  to  the  Sac- 
ramento Valley  Irrigation  Company  to  take  out  of  the  Sacramento 
River  just  above  Hamilton  City,  Colusa  County,  and  so  long  as  the 
diversion  shall  not  seriously  injure  the  navigation  of  the  river,  not 
exceeding  900  second  feet.     This  water  is  used  through  the  West  Side 
Canal  for  irrigation  on  the  Kuhn  project.     The  maximum  used  at  this 
time  under  this  permit  is  about  700  second  feet.     A  permit  granted 
by  the  War  Department  in  December,  1912,  to  R.  T.  Stone,  of  Davis, 
California,   for  not  to  exceed  800  second  feet  to  be  taken  out  near 
Elkhorn  Weir,  twelve  miles  above  Sacramento,  was  never  used,  and 
has  been  revoked.     No  other  permits  have  been  granted. 

248.  Surveys  made  in  the  middle  of  September,  1916,  by  the  United 
States  Geological  Survey  and  the  State  Engineering  Department  jointly, 
showed,   however,   that  between   Sacramento   City  and  Tehama    (178 
miles)   there  were  sixty-nine  plants  diverting  water  from  the  river; 
that  these  plants  were  actually  diverting  at  the  time  about  1,500  second 
feet,  though  their  capacity  was  greater ;  and  that,  of  the  total  diversion, 
only  482  second  feet  was  being  taken  out  under  authority  of  the  one 
permit  granted  by  the  War  Department.    It  is  assumed  that  the  remain- 
ing 1,000  second  feet  is  being  used  under  sufferance  of  the  department 
and  with  tacit  recognition  of  the  valuable  use  to  which  it  is  being  put. 

249.  Of  the  1,500  second  feet  diverted  at  the  time  of  survey  about 
1,050  was  being  used  continuously  in  24-hour  runs  for  5J  months 
by  ten  plants,  the  least  of  which  was  using  32   second  feet.     The 


STATE    WATER   PROBLEMS.  81 

remaining  450  feet  were  used  by  smaller  plants  irrigating  two  or  three 
times  a  season  and  for  perhaps  a  week  at  a  time.  Additional  diversions 
which  are  contemplated  for  projects  already  inaugurated,  or  in  pros- 
pect, amount  to  2,000  second  feet,  which  will  reduce  the  present  stream 
Ho\v  at  low  xtaue  almost  one-half,  with  resultant  injurious  effects  on 
navigation. 

This  survey  showed  the  following  actual  flow  at  the  stations 
named:  Hamilton  City,  4,670  second  feet;  Butte  City,  4,830;  Colusa, 
4.870;  Knights  Landing,  5,040.  There  was  aecassion  from  surface 
streams  only  between  Colusa  and  Knights  Landing  and  this  to  the 
extent  of  494  second  feet ;  and  as  the  diversion  between  Hamilton  City 
and  Knights  Landing  was  about  820  second  feet,  the  increased  flow 
indicated  a  return  seepage  from  underground  water  of  almost  700 
second  feet.  The  flow  measurement,  allowing  for  diversion,  showed 
that  550  second  feet  was  returned  by  seepage  to  the  river  between 
.Butte  City  and  Colusa. 

250.  The  War  Department  has  announced  no  policy  as  concerns  the 
inevitable  clash  between  navigation  and  irrigation  on  this  stream.     Its 
failure  to  stop  diversions  which  are  now  being  made  without  permit, 
however,  seems  significant  when  coupled  with  its  declared  policy  on 
the   San  Joaquin,  and  a  circular  letter  of  June   1,   1916,  issued  by 
Major  L.  H.  Rand,  U.  S.  A.,  for  the  United  States  Engineer's  office 
at  San  Francisco,  advising  interested  parties  that  his  office  had  reported 
adversely  to  Washington  on  the  matter  of  improving  the  Sacramento 
River  for  navigation  between  Chico  Landing  and  Red  Bluff  (52  miles). 
The  circular  letter  declares : 

"The  principal  grounds  upon  which  the  adverse  conclusions  are 
based  are  that  the  prospects  for  navigation  do  not  justify  the 
expense  that  will  undoubtedly  be  incurred  to  give  navigation  condi- 
tions so  much  better  than  are  now  established  that  actual  navigation 
would  be  rasumed,  and  that  to  permit  a  reasonable  resumption  of 
such  navigation  would  require  a  restriction  upon  existing  and 
prospective  diversions  of  water,  which  are  more  valuable  for  irri- 
gation purposes,  that  would  prevent  a  reasonable  development  of 
irrigation." 

While  the  original  report  has  not  been  made  public,  it  is  probable 
from  the  language  of  the  circular  letter  that  the  San  Francisco  Engi- 
neer's office  has  suggested  certain  superior  claims  of  irrigation  over 
navigation  and  has  based  its  recommendations  on  that  policy. 

251.  Whether  a  similar  policy  will  be  followed  as  regards  the  section 
of  river  between  Chico  Landing  and  Colusa  (51  miles),  and  afterwards 
as  regards  the  stretch  below  Colusa,  will  apparently  depend  upon  the 


82  REPORT   OF    CONFERENCE 

commerce  handled  upon  those  sections,  or  on  a  showing  made  as  to  the 
commerce  which  would  be  handled  were  certain  improvements  in  navi- 
gability made.  Some  idea  of  the  commerce  of  the  Sacramento  River 
and  of  the  probability  of  its  increase  may  be  had  by  reference  to  the 
report  of  the  Flood  Control  Committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
April,  1916,  House  Report  No.  616,  at  pages  63,  64  and  65. 

252.  The  policy  of  the  Board  of  Engineers  for  Rivers  and  Harbors, 
and  of  the  Rivers  and  Harbors  Committee  of  congress,  in  the  past,  has 
been  to  base  recommendations  as  to  appropriations  for  improvement  of 
navigation  rather  on  the  amount  of  commerce  actually  using  the  water- 
way, or  on  that  which  would  immediately  use  it  on  improvement,  rather 
than  on  that  which  might  ultimately  be  developed  if  the  waterway 
were  improved.     With  so  many  demands  upon  congress  in  this  matter 
it  is  not  perhaps  practicable  to  follow  a  more  liberal  policy — and  the 
more  liberal  policy  might  open  the  door  for  economic  waste  in  many 
localities. 

253.  The  result  has  been,   in  instances,  to  permit   gradual  loss  of 
navigability  in  streams  which  in  time  would  offer  most  valuable  trans- 
portation resources  to  the  thickly  populated  district  developed  along 
them.     It  would  be   a  short-sighted  policy  for  California  to  permit 
navigability  of  the  upper  Sacramento  or  of  any  other  navigable  water- 
way to  be  permanently  injured  through  neglect  if  it  shall  appear : 
(1)   That  such  navigability  may  be  maintained  without  detriment  to 
the  just  demands  of  irrigation  which  may  need  the  water  of  the  channel 
for  perfecting  the  crops;  (2)   that  such  navigability  shall  be  necessary, 
or  of  great  economic  advantage,  in  the  future  for  the  moving  of  the 
increased  crops  of  the  district;  (3)   [if  the  two  foregoing  conditions  are 
fulfilled]   that  the  expense  of  maintaining  such  navigability  shall  not 
be  greater  than  the  expense  of  a  canal  system  to  afford  the  same  service. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  in  this  connection  that  on  certain  sections  of  the 
Rhine  River  a  somewhat  similar  problem  has  been  solved  by  erecting 
a  rock  barrier  in  the  center  of  the  stream  and  confining  the  flow  at  low 
stages  of  water  to  one  side  of  the  channel.     The  subject  is  one  which 
merits  the  careful  investigation  of  the  state. 

254.  So  far  as  concerns  the  Sacramento  River  channel  from  Sacra- 
mento City  to  its  mouth,  it  can  not  be  injured  for  navigation  by  with- 
drawal of  any  quantity  of  water  from  the  river  above,  provided  the 
channel  of  the  river  is  cleared  of  debris  and  so  maintained  through 
flood  control.     The  reason  is  that,  with  gradual  elimination  of  debris 
deposits  in  the  channel  by  current  scouring  and  by  control  above,  the 
lower  section  of  the  river  will  be  kept  in  condition  for  navigation  by 


STATE   WATER   PROBLEMS.  83 

tidal  influence.  In  pioneer  days  there  was  a  tide  of  two  feet  at  Sacra- 
mento City.  Some  years  ago  there  was  none  at  all.  At  present  there 
is  over  a  foot,  and  this  condition  will  steadily  improve  with  proper 
flood  control. 

255.  A   similar   situation   exists   in   the   San   Joaquin   River  up   to 
Stockton,  though  the  condition  of  the  channel  is  much  better  at  present 
than  that  of  the  Sacramento  up  to  Sacramento  City.     The  reasons  are 
that  Stockton  is  closer  to  the  river  mouth  (45  miles  as  compared  to  61) 
and  that  the  San  Joaquin  River  has  not  had  to  contend  with  large 
deposits  of  mining  debris.     Navigation  in  the  upper  San  Joaquin  has 
been  for  some  years  practically  at  an  end,  because  the  river's  flow  is 
withdrawn  each  year  for  irrigation ;  but  navigation  below  Stockton  has 
steadily  improved. 

A  State  Policy  Necessary. 

256.  From  the  facts  stated  above  it  appears  that  the  War  Department 
is  authorized,  and  perhaps  directed,  to  prevent  diversion  of  water  from 
navigable  streams  if  navigation  shall  be  threatened  by  such  diversion; 
that  the  time  is  near  at  hand  when  further  diversions  from  the  Sacra- 
mento River  will  interfere  with  navigation  on  the  upper  stream;  that 
the   department   is   tolerating,   but   has   not   sanctioned,   certain  with- 
drawals now  being  made;  that  it  seems  disposed  to  recognize  the  more 
\aluaMe  use  of  water  for  irrigation,  but  is  perhaps  prevented  by  law 
from  sanctioning  such  use  if  it  be  apparent  that  navigation  must  suffer 
therefrom;  and  that  the  interests  of  the  state  lie  in  recognizing  the 
superior  uses  of  the  stream  for  irrigation,  and  furnishing  waterways, 
if  necessary,  by  canalization. 

257.  It  is  manifestly  necessary  for  the  state  to  declare  at  once  a 
broad  and  definite  policy  on  the  matter,  and  to  secure  from  the  federal 
government  formal  approval  of  such  policy  and  effective  cooperation  in 
carrying  it  out.     It  is  understood  that  the  federal  government  has  no 
proprietary  rights  in  the  waters  of  navigable  streams  and  only  such 
control  of  the  use  of  such  waters  as  may  be  necessary  to  protect  navi- 
gation.    Its  permit  to  divert  waters  from  a  navigable  stream  is  in 
r-nVrt,  therefore,  a  certificate  that  such  diversion  may  be  made  without 
injury  to  navigation.     The  permit  does  not  and  can  not  confer  rights, 
which  the  government  does  not  possess,  to  ownership  of  that  water 
or  to  its  use  for  purposes  other  than  navigation.    It  is  incumbent  upon 
the  state,  then,  to  determine  upon  what  conditions  irrigators  may  divert 
water  from  the  navigable  streams  of  the  state  after  the  permit  as 
now  required  has  been  secured  from  the  War  Department;   also  to 


84  REPORT   OP    CONFERENCE 

determine  whether  further  diversion  shall  be  encouraged  after  navi- 
gation is  threatened,  when  so  indicated  by  the  War  Department ;  and  if 
such  diversion  be  necessary  in  the  interests  of  irrigation,  as  recom- 
mended in  this  report,  then  to  obtain  the  formal  sanction  of  congress 
to  a  policy  recognizing  the  superior  claims  of  irrigation;  and  finally, 
if  navigation  be  still  necessary  for  marketing  of  the  crops  of  irrigation, 
then  to  provide  for  navigation  by  canalization. 


STATE    WATER    PROBLEMS.  85 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Storage  for  Flood  Control. 

258.  The  conference  formally  declared  in  March,  1916,  that,  as  irri- 
gation, navigation  and  water  power  development — three  of  the  state's 
great  interests — will  be  promoted  by  storage,  the  flood  control  problems 
of  the  state  should  be  solved,  where  practical,  by  storage. 

259.  Every  student  of  conservation  appreciates  the  valuable  services 
which  may  be  obtained  from  the  mountain  streams,  through  storage, 
for  hydroelectric  energy  and  for  irrigation.     He  deprecates  the  great 
economic  waste  which  results  when  the  streams  are  permitted  to  flow, 
unhindered  or  aided,  to  the  sea,  and  particularly  when  the  flow  consists 
largely  of  flood  water,  a  source  of  danger  and  damage  to  the  fertile 
valley  lands.     In  such  cases  the  failure  to  utilize  storage  when  it  is 
practicable,  and  thus  prevent  such  injury  and  at  the  same  time  secure 
beneficial  use  of  the  flood  waters,  is  an  economic  crime.    That  statement 
iieeds  no  demonstration. 

260.  It  has  been  thought  by  some  people  that  it  was  a  mistake  to 
attempt  to  control  the  floods  of  streams  like  the  Sacramento  River  in 
j'.ny  other  manner  than  by  storage.     The  conference  devoted  some  time 
to  the  study  of  this  question  and  the  conclusion  was  reached  that  stor- 
age as  a  complete  flood  control  medium  in  this  state  is  untested.    It  has 
not  been  shown  that  it  would  take  care  of  the  problem  of  flood  control 
on  our  large  rivers,  such  as  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin,  but  the 
conference  is  satisfied  that  far  more  should  be  planned  and  done  in  the 
way  of  storage  of  water  for  flood  control  than  is  at  present  in  contem- 
plation.    All  the  flood  waters  of  the  state — probably  even  the  greater 
part  thereof — can  not  be  stored  under  existing  conditions.     In  some 
instances  it  may  be  physically  impossible,  in  others  practically  impossi- 
ble, and  in  others  economically  impracticable,  but  in  some  instances 
where  it  is  now  economically  impracticable,  a  definite  declared  state 
policy,  calculated  to  insure  cooperation  among  the  different  interests 
which  may  be  benefited  by  water  storage  would  undoubtedly  make  a 
number   of   storage    projects   economically   feasible   and   hasten    their 
inauguration. 

261.  The  propriety  of  the  conclusions  reached  by  the  conference  in 
this  matter  can  be  best  appreciated  by  general  consideration  of  reser- 
voirs and  their  uses,  and  a  study  of  the  more  important  flood  control 
problems  of  the  state,  and  the  relation  of  storage  thereto. 

262.  In  connection  with  this  subject  careful  consideration  must  be 
given  to  the  antagonistic  interests  of  flood  control,  irrigation  and  hydro- 
electric power  in  connection  with  the  storing  of  water  and  its  use.     A 


86  REPORT  OP  CONFERENCE 

reservoir  for  highest  economic  efficiency  in  flood  control  should  be  kept 
empty  until  actual  flood ;  it  would  be  filled  then  by  the  first  flood,  and 
gradually  emptied  after  that  flood  had  subsided,  in  order  to  give  stor- 
age for  another  flood.  That  same  reservoir,  if  used  for  power  or  irri- 
gation would,  on  the  contrary,  be  filled  as  soon  as  possible — before 
actual  flood  if  conditions  permitted — and  kept  full,  lest  there  should 
not  be  subsequent  flood  to  fill  it.  Such  a  reservoir  so  used  could  not  be 
considered,  therefore,  as  more  than  a  partial  factor  in  flood  control. 

263.  As  to  the  storing  of  water,  the  interests  of  irrigation  and  power 
are  identical,  since  they  aim  to  insure  a  full  reservoir;  but  their  use 
of  the  stored  water  is  antagonistic  to  a  certain  extent,  because  of  the 
difference  in  demand  at  different  times  of  the  day  and  different  seasons 
of  the  year. 

264.  It  is  quite  evident,  therefore,  that  a  reservoir  held,  in  private 
ownership  and  under  private  control,  for  irrigation  or  power  purposes, 
could  be  of  material  value  for  flood  control  only  in  exceptional  localities 
or  under  exceptional  conditions.     Speaking  generally,  the  same  site 
could  be  utilized  for  flood  control  as  well  as  for  the  other  purpases 
named  only  by  increasing  the  height  of  the  dam,  and  having  in  effect 
two  reservoirs,  the  top  one  for  flood  control  to  be  filled  and  emptied 
with  the  coming  and  going  of  the  flood,  and  the  lower  one  to  be  filled 
as  soon  as  possible  and  kept  full  as  long  as  possible  to  supply  water 
when  needed.     Such  double  construction  adds  materially  to  the  cost, 
even  if  other  conditions  are  favorable,  and  it  must  assume  public  con- 
trol for  proper  use  of  the  flood  control  portion  of  the  reservoir. 

265.  A  reservoir  maintained  primarily  for  flood  control  can  not  be 
of  great  value  for  power  or  irrigation  unless  it  is  of  sufficient  capacity 
to  contain  a  large  part  of  the  flood  waters  that  may  come  to  it,  or  is 
assisted  by  other  reservoirs  on  the  same  stream.     It  should  be  remem- 
bered in  this  connection  that  it  is  the  peak  of  the  flood  that  does  the 
great  damage  and  whatever  tends  to  check  a  portion  of  any  flood  may 
prevent  that  peak.     However,  it  is  true  that  for  full  flood  control  the 
water  in  the  reservoir  must  be  more  or  less  regulated  and  allowed  to 
run  away  when  the  flood  peak  is  past,  if  the  reservoir  is  not  large 
enough  to  hold  whatever  floods  may  come.     There  are  instances,  how- 
ever, when  it  is  far  more  economical  to  expend  moneys  to  control  the 
floods  in  the  mountains  by  reservoir  than  to  expend  the  same  amount 
of  money  trying  to  retain  the  flood  and  its  load  of  silt  in  bounds  as  it 
courses  across  the  lower  lands,  drops  its  load  of  silt,  fills  channels  and 
seeks  new  courses,  carrying  destruction  as  it  goes.     Such  flood  control 
reservoirs,  though  not  giving  fullest  efficiency  for  irrigation  or  power, 
can  be  depended  upon  to  a  large  extent,  especially  for  irrigation. 


STATIC    WATKR    PROBLEMS.  87 

266.  In  general  terms,  therefore,  it  may  be  said  that  in  California 
flood  control  by  storage  must  be  governed  for  some  time  by  economic 
conditions;  and  that  where  flood  control,  because  of  such  conditions, 
must  for  the  present  be  secured  by  other  means,  future  development 
may  in  time  justify  the  use  of  great  reservoir  sites  for  irrigation  and 
power,  or  either,  in  which  case  a  wise  state  policy  may  induce  such 
cooperation  of  interests  as  to  make  the  reservoirs  of  value  in  flood  con- 
trol, if  only  as  additional  factors  of  safety.     It  is  always  to  be  remem- 
bered that  any  reservoir  can  be  of  value  in  flood  control  only  to  the 
extent  of  the  actual  flood  it  holds  back  at  the  critical  time. 

Storage  of  the  Sacramento  Floods. 

267.  The  most  severe  criticism  as  to  waste  of  water  resources  has 
been  made  against  the  state  project  for  flood  control  of  the  Sacramento 
River  which  plans  to  send  the  flood  waters  through  by-passes  to  the  sea, 
instead  of  storing  them,  although  it  is  claimed  that  there  exist  in  the 
mountains  storage  facilities  ample  to  hold  back  these  flood  waters  and 
turn  them  to  beneficial  use. 

268.  The  following  statement  made  by  E.  G.  Hopsou,  of  the  United 
States  Reclamation   Service,    (and  confirmed  by  his  testimony  before 
the  conference  October  28,  1915,  pages  285-288  of  transcript),  indicates 
the  very  positive  conclusions  reached  by  engineers  in  this  regard: 

"As  to  the  possibility  of  reservoirs  holding  back  the  floods  of 
the  Sacramento  Valley,  there  have  been  some  very  definite  state- 
ments. We  have  collected  a  mass  of  information.  All  the  reser- 
voir sites  are  known  to  us  and  have  been  surveyed.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  hold  back  the  greater  part  of  the  Sacramento  floods  by  use 
of  reservoirs.  There  are  only  two  effective  reservoir  sites  that  I 
know  of — that  at  Iron  Canyon  and  one  on  the  Pit  River,  and  these 
could  care  for  only  the  peak  of  the  floods.  Reservoirs  never  could 
hold  back  the  great  mass  of  flood  water,  and  on  that  we  can  not 
lay  too  much  emphasis.  I  think  there  is  more  fallacy  abroad  on 
that  point  than  on  any  other  point  having  to  do  with  water  prob- 
lems. We  could  use  all  the  sites  available  for  the  storage  of  flood 
waters,  and  they  would  affect  only  to  an  insignificant  extent  the 
flood  problems." 

269.  This    conclusion   as   to   the   extent   to   which   storage   may    be 
utilized  for  flood  control  of  the  Sacramento  River  is  fully  confirmed 
by  the  army  engineers  of  the  War  Department,  and  by  the  State  Engi- 
neering Department,  and  by  private  engineers  who  have  made  special 
study  of  the  matter.     Full  explanation  of  the  conditions  which  justify 
the  conclusion  will  be  found  by  reference  to  the  report  of  the  State 
Reclamation  Board,  1916,  in  the  chapter  on  "Storage  and  Flood  Con- 
trol," at  page  23;  to  the  supplemental  report  of  the  Flood  Control 


88  REPORT   OF    CONFERENCE 

Committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives  on  the  Sacramento  River, 
]916,  House  Report  No.  616,  pages  67,  68  and  69;  and  to  the  report  of 
the  Board  of  Engineers  for  Rivers  and  Harbors  and  the  California 
Debris  Commission  for  1910,  House  Document  No.  81. 

270.  There  is  in  the  Sacramento  River  drainage  area  one  reservoir 
site  which  could  be  utilized  to  undoubted  advantage  in  flood  control  of 
the  river— the  Iron  Canyon  site  just  above  Red  Bluff,  the  use  of  which 
for  irrigation  purposes  is  contemplated  by  the  United  States  Reclama- 
tion Service.     Assuming  that  a  reservoir  be  constructed  there  and  that 
it  be  used  for  flood  control  purposes  as  well  as  for  irrigation  and  power, 
it  could,  according  to  the  plans  and  estimates,  hold  back  as  much  as 
175,000  second  feet  of  the  floods  of  the  upper  Sacramento  passing  Red 
Bluff.     If  so,   according  to   the  Reclamation  Board  Report,   1916,   it 
would  justify  material  modification  and  perhaps  the  entire  elimination 
of  by-passes  in  the  Butte  Basin,  but  it  would  not  justify  changes  else- 
where.    This  matter  is  explained  fully  in  the  State  Reclamation  Board 
Report,  1916,  page  25,  and  also  in  the  Iron  Canyon  Report,  1915,  and  in 
an  appendix  thereto  which  gives  correspondence   between  the   State 
Reclamation  Board  and  the  United  States  Reclamation  Service,  between 
which  offices  there  is  apparently  entire  accord  on  this  point.     Within 
the  past  few  days,  in  a  hearing  before  the  State  Reclamation  Board, 
landowners  in  the  Butte  Basin  expressed  themselves  generally  to  the 
effect  that  they  did  not  wish  to  wait  for  possible  adoption  of  an  Iron 
Canyon  flood  control  project  to  secure  protection  for  their  lands. 

271.  An  instance  of  the  manner  in  which  future  storage  for  irriga- 
tion or  power  will  fit  in  with  the  Sacramento  by-pass  system  is  afforded 
in  the  problem  of  Cache  Creek.     This  stream,  with  a  maximum  flood 
of  30,000  second  feet,   deposits  masses  of  silt  in  the  Yolo  By-pass. 
Having  created  the  Knights  Landing  Ridge,  the  stream  has  moved  south 
and  is  making  there  another  ridge.     A  corporation  proposes  to  utilize 
Clear  Lake  as  a  reservoir  for  power  and  irrigation  and  hold  there  a 
large  portion  of  the  floods  which  have  heretofore  made  Cache  Creek  a 
destructive   stream.     If   a   similar   enterprise   were   to   hold   back   the 
floods  of  Indian  Valley,  which  pass  also  into  Cache  Creek,  the  flood 
control  problem  of  that  stream  would  be  solved,  in  large  part,  and  its 
floods  turned  to  beneficial  use. 

272.  There  has  been  strongly  advocated,  for  conservation  of  the  flood 
waters  of  the  Sacramento  River,  the  plan  of  a  sidehill  canal  to  carry 
such  flood  waters  from  the  vicinity  of  Red  Bluff  along  the  western  slope 
of  the  Sierra  foothills  to  the  extreme  southern  end  of  the  San  Joaquin 
Valley,  distributing  the  water  on  the  way  to  reservoirs  for  irrigation, 
or  permitting  it  to  percolate  through  the  valley  soil  and  raise  the  under- 
ground water  table,  whence  it  could  be  raised  by  pumping.     That  plan 


STATE    WATER    PROBLEMS.  89 

was  grin-rally  outlined  to  the  Flood  Control  Committee  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  at  its  hearing  on  the  Sacramento  River,  April  5,  1916, 
by  Hon.  P.  G.  Nrvvlands,  United  States  senator  from  Nevada,  and  by 
George  H.  Maxwell,  and  appropriation  urged  for  investigation.  (See 
pages  43.  and  .">!  to  59,  of  the  printed  report  of  such  hearing.)  The 
Flood  Control  Committee,  in  its  report  (April  29,  1916,  House  Report 
No.  616,  pages  68  and  69),  points  out  the  obstacles  in  the  way  of  carry- 
ing out  such  a  plan,  and  declares  it  is  "practically  impossible  and 
perhaps  physically  impossible  as  well." 

273.  A  method  of  treatment  for  the  Sacramento  similar  to  that  fol- 
lowed for  the  Nile  has  been  suggested,  to  wit,  spreading  the  floods  over 
the  arable  lands  and  thus  utilizing  these  floods  for  fertilizing  purposes. 
The  Colusa,  Sutter,  Yolo,  American  and  Sacramento  basins  have  been 
used  by  Nature  in  the  past  as  detention  reservoirs  for  floods  of  the 
Sacramento.     Such  use,  however,   did  not  prevent  destructive  floods. 
The  floods,  too,  did  not  run  off  these  basins  in  time  to  insure  a  safe 
crop,  and  now  the  large  part  of  the  acreage  in  these  basins  is  reclaimed, 
or  in  process  of  reclamation.     It  should  be  remembered,  too,  that  the 
floods  coming  from  the  Feather  and  American  rivers  carry  large  quan- 
tities of  mining  debris  which  destroys  the  land  for  agricultural  uses, 
instead  of  fertilizing  it. 

274.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  storage  for  flood  control  of  the 
Sacramento  River  as  far  as  known  now,  can  be  of  value  only  to  a 
limited  extent.     It  is  declared  by  the  various  interests  concerned  in 
flood  control  of  the  river  that  they  can  not  postpone  completion  of  the 
Complete  plan  now  in  progress  for  such  doubtful  benefit,  but  that  the 
state  plan  has  been  so  arranged  that  reservoirs  constructed  for  any 
purpose  can  be  made  to  fit  into  it  and  to  afford  additional  factors  of 
safety  to  the  extent  of  the  floods  actually  held  back. 

Storage  of  San  Joaquin   Floods. 

275.  The  prospects  for  securing  flood  control  of  the  San  Joaquin 
River  and  its  tributaries  by  storage  are  very  much  more  promising  than 
in  the  case  of  the  Sacramento,  and  yet  the  engineers  warn  us  not  to  be 
too  sanguine  that  all  the  floods  of  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  can  be  so 
conserved.     Until  a  comprehensive  flood  control  plan  for  the  San  Joa- 
quin Valley  has  been  prepared,  as  elsewhere  referred  to  in  this  report 
(Chapter  V),  a  definite  conclusion  on  this  point  can  not  be  reached. 

276.  It  is  generally  believed  that  the  problem  of  the  Calaveras  River 
floods,  which  menace  thr  city  of  Stockton,  can  br  best  solved  by  storage. 
At  present  the  so-called  "diverting  canal"  offers  insufficient  protection 
to  the  city  and  causes  inundation  of  several  thousand  acres  of  farming 
lands.     Stockton,  at  the  legislative  session  of  1915,  endeavored  to  have 


90  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

this  territory  included  in  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  Drainage 
District,  under  jurisdiction  of  the  State  Reclamation  Board,  that  the 
problem  might  be  properly  handled  by  construction  of  a  reservoir. 
The  measure,  however,  did  not  pass.  Three  alternative  plans  are  pro- 
posed. One  of  these,  at  an  estimated  expense  of  $650,000,  would  care 
for  the  two-day  flood  of  1911  (the  largest  on  the  Calaveras  in  recent 
years),  and  incidentally  store  50,000  acre  feet  of  water  which  could  be 
used  to  increase  low  water  flow  of  the  San  Joaquin  or  for  irrigation  or 
power.  An  expenditure  of  $1,500,000,  with  a  dam  180  feet  high,  it  is 
estimated,  would  give  a  reservoir  capacity  of  230,000  acre  feet,  160,000 
of  which  could  be  used  for  irrigation  or  power. 

277.  A  project  referred  to  as  the  Pine  Flat  project  is  now  on  foot  for 
the  construction  of  a  large  reservoir  on  the  Kings  River,  designed  to 
hold  600,000  acre  feet  of  water  at  an  estimated  cost  of  $6,000,000.     The 
waters  thus  stored,  it  is  estimated,  will  irrigate  400,000  acres  of  land 
now  arid,  and  provide  improved  irrigating  facilities  for  600,000  acres 
more.     The  floods  of  the  Kings  River  flow  partly  into  the  Tulare  Lake 
Basin  and  partly  into  the  San  Joaquin  River.     In  the  delta  of  the  San 
Joaquin  they  have  been  made  the  subject  of  suit  on  the  part  of  land 
owners  who  claim  that  waters  which  would  naturally  flow  into  Tulare 
Lake  have  been  artificially  diverted  into  the  San  Joaquin  River.     The 
Pine  Flat  project,  if  completed,  would  assist  in  solving  this  portion  of 
the  San  Joaquin  problem.     It  would  also  serve  to  relieve  in  large  part 
the  fertile  basin  of  the  Tulare  Lake  from  inundation ;  and,  taken  in 
conjunction  with  the  Tulare  Lake  reclamation  project,  would  entirely 
solve  the  Tulare  Lake  problem.     The  latter  project  proposes  to  care  for 
the  floods  of  the  Tule,  Kaweah  and  Kern  rivers,  and  when  completed 
would  permanently  reclaim  200,000  acres  of  rich  lake  basin  lands  and 
provide  water  for  the  irrigation  thereof.    It  has  been  represented  to  the 
conference  that  because  of  local  conditions,  these  two  projects  can  not  be 
carried  out  save  under  state  authority  and  under  some  such  plan  as  is 
contemplated  in  the  present  Irrigation  Commission  Act. 

Storage  for  the  Los  Angeles  and  Colorado. 

278.  In  connection  with  the  Los  Angeles  River  flood  control  project, 
it  can  not  be  said,  in  advance  of  further  reports  by  the  Los  Angeles 
County  Board  of  Engineers  for  Flood  Control,  just  what  portion  of 
the  river  floods  can  be  stored  for  beneficial  use.    While  the  plan,  else- 
where explained  (Chapter  V),  contemplates  wasting  a  certain  portion 
in  the  sea,  it  is  hoped  that  the  greater  portion  can  be  either  held  in 
reservoir,  or  forced  to  an  indirect  beneficial  use  through  the  medium 
of  check  and  saturation  dams  and  gravel  spreading  beds,  and  diversion 
thereby  into  underground  sources  of  supply. 


STATE    WATER   PROBLEMS.  91 

270.  Flood  control  of  the  Colorado  River  by  storage  is  a  problem  in 
which  physical  difficulties  are  supplemented  by  interstate  and  interna- 
tional complications  fully  set  forth  in  Chapter  V  of  this  report.  The 
conference  is  not  advised  as  to  how  far  the  floods  of  the  Colorado  could 
be  controlled  by  utilization  of  reservoir  sites  in  the  upper  reaches  of 
the  river  and  on  its  tributaries,  nor  as  to  the  economical  practicability 
of  such  a  plan.  It  could  not  be  followed,  however,  without  concert  of 
action  on  the  part  of  the  several  states  having  interests  in  the  stream, 
the  United  States,  and  possibly  Mexico. 

280.  As  to  the  value  of  storage  in  controlling  floods  in  the  lower 
reaches  of  the  Colorado  which  threaten  California  lands,  the  following 
quotation  from  the  conclusions  of  a  progress  report  presented  by  the 
Special  Committee  on  Floods  and  Flood  Prevention  of  the  American 
Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  January  19,  1916,  has  interest: 

Reservoirs  and  detention  basins.  At  the  head  waters  of  streams, 
storage  reservoirs  and  detention  basins  can  be  successfully 
employed  to  reduce  flood  height;  which  method  is  preferable,  is 
dependent  on  local  conditions.  Their  efficiency,  however,  rapidly 
diminishes  as  the  distance  from  them  increases. 

Levees.  As  you  proceed  downstream  the  influence  of  reservoirs 
on  flood  prevention  rapidly  diminishes  and  the  influence  of  levees 
correspondingly  increases  in  importance  as  a  method  of  flood  pro- 
tection. On  the  lower  alluvial  reaches  of  long  rivers,  such  as  the 
Mississippi  and  Colorado,  they  afford  the  only  sure  means  of  flood 
control. 

281.  If  it  be  physically  practical  to  divert  from  the  Colorado  River 
and  store  in  California  sufficient  waters  for  the  purpose,  several  hundred 
thousand  acres  of  land  in  the  eastern  portions  of  San  Diego,  San  Ber- 
nardino and  Riverside  counties  could  be  irrigated  thereby;  and  there 
is  no  other  available  source  of  water  supply  for  these  lands.     Such  a 
plan  could  be  made  of  value  in  partially  controlling  floods.     But  it  is 
understood  that  Mexico  sets  up  the  claim  that  such  a  diversion,  by 
diminishing  flow  in  the  river  channel,  might  cause  a  change  in  that 
portion  of  the  channel  which  serves  as  international  boundary  and  thus 
violate  the  spirit  of  the  treaty  of  1884.     The  same  contention  is  made 
as  to  diversion  of  the  river's  floods  without  Mexico's  consent,   and 
spreading  them  over  lands  for  the  fertilization  thereof.     It  is  evident, 
therefore,   that,   regardless  of  the  feasibility  of  flood  control  of  the 
Colorado  through  storage,  California  can  not  look  to  such  methods  for 
immediate  protection  of  her  rich  valleys  threatened  yearly  by  the  river's 
overflow. 


92  REPORT    OP    CONFERENCE 

Local  Complications. 

282.  It  should  be  said,  too,  that  even  the  interests  directly  concerned 
in  the  conservation  of  water  for  irrigation  are  not  always  agreed  as  to 
the  wisdom  of  storage  as  applied  to  certain  local  problems,  even  when 
such  storage  is  practicable.    This  is  noticeable  where  the  ground  waters, 
upon  which  irrigation  may  be  dependent,  are  assumed  to  be  fed  partly 
by  flood  and  stream  flow,   the   storing  of   which  might   reduce   such 
ground  waters.     For  instance,   the   Alameda   County  Water  District 
objects  to  the  storage  by  the  Spring  Valley  Water  Company  of  the 
waters  of  Alameda  Creek,  and,  under  agreement  of  both  parties,  the 
State  Water  Commission  will  gather  data  during  the  next  three  years 
to  ascertain  just  what  effect  such  storage  will  have  upon  the  ground 
waters  upon  which  the  water  district  is  dependent  for  supply.     The 
city  of  Santa  Barbara  was  party  to  a  similar  suit  as  to  its  storage  on 
the  Santa  Ynez  River,  but  the  case  was  recently  compromised.     These 
are  instances  of  many  existing  cases  in  the  state  in  which  storage, 
whether  attempted  for  irrigation  or  for  other  interest,  is  opposed  by 
irrigation  itself,  because  of  the  local  complications.     Such  cases  should 
be  decided  upon  individual  merit,  and  it  would  appear  that  authority 
for  the  purpose  should  be  reposed  in  a  state  board  or  commission,  as 
recommended  in  this  report. 

283.  While  the  conference  very  strongly  urges  the  use  of  storage 
for  flood  control  whenever  and  wherever  such  plan  is  feasible  even  in 
part,  it  is  forced,  in  view  of  the  facts  before  it,  to  recognize  the  diffi- 
culties that  exist  in  the  adoption  of  a  general  policy  of  flood  control 
by  storage.     The  damage  created  by  floods  is  too  great  to  justify  post- 
ponement of  remedial  measures  until  they  can  be  based  in  all  cases 
on  a  storage  plan.     They  should  be  so  based  where  practicable  and  if 
storage  is  not  immediately  practicable  but  is  later  possible,  then  the 
plans  should  contemplate  utilization  thereof  as  soon  as  feasible. 


STATE   WATER    PROBLEMS  93 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Interstate  Waters. 

284.  Conflicts  have  arisen  and  may  arise  between  California  and  other 
states  as  to  the  control  or  use  of  interstate  waters  under  the  following 

conditions : 

(a)  In  connection  with  the  waters  of  a  boundary  stream  such  as 
the  Colorado  River. 

(b)  In  connection  with  the  waters  of  a  living  stream  running 
from  one  state  into  another.     There  are  instances  of  this  phase 
of  the  question  in  the  Truckee  River,  the  only  outlet  of  Lake  Tahoe, 
which  runs  from  California  into  Nevada,  and  in  the  Klamath  River 
flowing  from  Oregon  into  California. 

(c)  In  connection  with  the  waters   of  an   interstate  lake.     A 
notable  instance  is  Lake  Tahoe. 

(d)  In  connection  with  the  waters  of  a  watershed  which  crosses 
the  state  boundary. 

(e)  In  connection  with  artificial  channels,  canals  or  ditches  which 
convey  water  from  one  state  into  another.     In  Lassen  County  is 
found  an  instance  of  (d)  and  (e)  in  the  proposed  project  to  utilize 
the  waters  tributary  to  Honey  Lake  Valley  (some  of  which  come 
from  the  Nevada  watershed),  by  storing  them  on  the  Nevada  side 
of  the  state  line  and  carrying  them  over  into  California  for  use. 

285.  With  regard  to  the  complications  which  exist  in  connection  with 
control  and  use  of  the  waters  of  the  Colorado  River,  the  questions  at 
issue  can  be  finally  determined  only  through  an  understanding  between 
California  and  the  several  states  interested  in  such  waters,  and  also  by  a 
definite  agreement  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico.     Until  these 
matters  are  determined  the  diversion  and  beneficial  use  of  such  waters, 
or   even  permanent   measures  for  flood  control,   are  beset  with  most 
serious   difficulties.     Active  efforts  should  be  made  by   California  to 
secure  early  adjustment  of  these  differences.     (See  Chapter  V.) 

The  Lake  Tahoe  Controversy. 

286.  With  regard  to  the  waters  of  Lake  Tahoe  and  the  Truckee  River, 
a  serious  question  has  arisen  between  power  companies  and  the  United 
States  Reclamation  Service,  acting  together  on  the  one  side,  and  the 
state  of  California  and  riparian  landowners  around  the  lake,  on  the 
other  side.     The  United  States  Reclamation  Service  has  sought  for  a 
number  of  years  to  utilize  Lake  Tahoe  as  a  storage  reservoir  and  to  use 
its  waters  in  the  state  of  Nevada  for  irrigation  in  connection  with  the 
Truckee-Carson  project.     Power  companies  on  the  Truckee  River  in 
California  have  acquired  certain  rights,  but  the  stream  is  not  used  for 
irrigation  in  this  state,  though  it  is  used  for  such  purpose  in  Nevada 
along  the  Truckee  Meadows,  and  through  diversion  into  the  works  of 
the  Truckee-Carson  project. 


94  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

287.  The  Truckee  River  is  the  only  outlet  of  Lake  Tahoe,  the  rise  in 
level  of  the  lake  being  regulated  by  this  outlet,  and  its  fall  being  limited 
by  a  natural  rim  which  guards  the  outlet.     The  Donner  Boom  and 
Lumber  Company  many  years  ago  acquired  a  franchise  from  the  state  of 
California  with  power  to  erect  a  dam  in  the  river  and  collect  tolls  for 
floating  logs  on  its  waters.     The  corporation  died  in  1906  through  for- 
feiture of  franchise.     Its  property  was  conveyed  through  other  parties 
to  the  Truckee  General  Electric  Company,  which,  in  conjunction  with 
the    Reclamation  Service,    built    a   larger    dam    at    the    lake 's    outlet. 
Recently  the  Reclamation  Service  purchased,  in  a  condemnation  suit 
under  stipulation,  from  the  Truckee  General  Electric   Company,   its 
interest  in  the  dam  and  land  surrounding  the  outlet,  and  now  claims, 
through  such  ownership,  and  as  an  appropriator  of  waters  in  the  lake, 
the  right  to  control  and  use  the  waters  thereof,  and  incidentally  to  cut 
down  the  protective  rim  at  the  outlet  which  fixes  the  low  water  mark. 
It  also  claims  that  the  dam,  as  government  property,  is  free  from  control 
of  the  courts. 

288.  The  landowners  claim  that  through  manipulation  of  the  dam 
and  change  thereby  secured  in  natural  conditions,  the  lake  has  been  so 
raised  as  to  flood  and  seriously  damage  private  property,  and  that  the 
claimed  right  of  the  Reclamation  Service  to  cut  the  rim  and  lower  the 
low-water  level  would  cause  further  damage  to  wharves  and  navigation. 
Some  years  ago  $35,000  was  collected  from  the  Truckee  General  Electric 
Company  for  damages  created  by  high  water,  and  the  landowners  have 
now  a  suit  against  the  Reclamation  Service  and  the  former  owners  of 
the  dam,  to  prevent  further  manipulation  of  the  lake's  level  and  to 
secure  damages  for  losses  sustained. 

289.  The  state  of  California,  through  its  Attorney  General,  three 
years  ago  commenced  a  suit,  which  is  still  pending,  to  force  the  abandon- 
ment of  the  dam  at  the  outlet  of  the  lake  so  that  there  could  no  longer 
be,  either  by  private  parties  or  the  Reclamation  Service,  artificial  con- 
trol of  the  lake 's  level  to  the  injury  of  private  rights  and  rights  claimed 
by  the  state.     The  state  claims  that  the  dam  is  illegally  maintained. 

290.  Aside  from  the  state's  interest  in  the  control  and  use  of  the 
waters  of  the  lake,  it  would  seem  undesirable  to  permit,  if  it  can  be 
avoided,  such  change  in  the  lake 's  conditions  as  would  injure  or  destroy 
the  scenic  beauties  thereof.     There  seems  to  be  involved  also  a  serious 
question  between  the  state  and  the  federal  government  in  the  matter  of 
control,  a  question  upon  which  the  state  has  not  yet  formally  adopted 
a  general  policy.     Such  a  policy  should  be  declared  and  an  early  adjudi- 
cation had  upon  the  points  involved  in  this  matter.     It  is  possible  that 
an  adjustment  can  be  made  under  which  the  interests  of  water  conserva- 
tion can  be  economically  served  without  injury  to  the  lake's  scenic 
beauties,  and  without  injury  to  state  or  private  rights,  or  if  there  be 
injury,  then  with  due  compensation  therefor. 


STATE    WATER    PROBLEMS.  95 

California   Legislation. 

29.1.  It  was  because  of  th<>  Lake  Tahoe  and  Tnieke.e  River  situation 
that  the  legislature  of  California  in  11)11  passed  a  joint  resolution  pro- 
testing against  diversion  from  the  lake  as  an  invasion  of  the  rights  of 
the  people,  and  reciting  that  the  state  claimed  to  own  the  major  portions 
of  the  water.  In  the  same  year  the  legislature  of  Nevada  adopted  a 
resolution  relating  to  the  same  matter,  declaring  that  the  diversion 
contemplated  meets  with  the  hearty  approval  of  the  citizens  of  Nevada, 
" notwithstanding  the  protect  of  the  people  of  California  whose  claims 
to  these  waters  we  do  not  concede." 

292.  In  1911  California  passed  a  law,  approved  March  3d,  declaring 
it  to  be  unlawful  for  any  one  to  carry  water  from  this  state  into  another 
state  through  any  means  of  conveyance,  for  use  in  such  other  state; 
and  authorizing  the  Governor  to  prevent  such  diversion  and  to  bring 
action  through  the  Attorney  General  for  such  purpose. 

293.  In  1913  the  California  legislature  added  section  1410a  to  the 
Civil  Code  relating  to  rights  upon  interstate  streams.     The  section  reads 
as  follows : 

"1410a.  The  entire  flow  of  water  in  any  natural  stream  which 
carries  water  from  the  state  of  California  into  any  other  state  is 
subject  to  use  in  the  state  of  California,  under  the  laws  of  the  state 
of  California,  and  the  right  may  be,  so  far  as  not  already  acquired 
by  use  in  the  state  of  California,  acquired  and  held  under  the  laws 
of  the  state  of  California.  The  rights  to  the  use  of  such  water 
held  under  the  laws  of  the  state  of  California,  shall  be  prior  and 
superior  to  any  rights  to  the  waters  of  such  streams  held  under  the 
laws  of  any  other  state. ' ' 

294.  It  will  be  seen  therefrom  that  the  present  policy  of  the  state  of 
California,  as  formally  declared,  so  far  as  concerns  the  use  in  other  states 
of  waters  having  their  origin  in  this  state,  is  obstructive  and  prohibitive. 
The  conference  understands  that  California  is  within  her  legal  rights  in 
adopting  the  policy  outlined.     The  conference  believes,  however,  that  it 
is  a  short-sighted  policy  which  must  necessarily  result  in  reprisals  from 
other  states  and  that  the  better  policy  would  be  to  permit  to  the  citizens 
of  other  states  diversion  of  the  waters  of  streams  of  this  state  when  such 
diversion  does  not  conflict  with  the  rights  of  this  state  or  the  citizens 
thereof,  and  provided  such  other  states  grant  reciprocal  rights. 

295.  Oregon,  in  1911,  enacted  a  statute  of  this  nature  which  is  still  in 
force  and  which  provides  in  effect  that  the  state  engineer  may,  at  his 
discretion,  decline  to  issue  a  permit  for  the  diversion  of  water  when  the 
point  of  diversion  is  within  the  state  of  Oregon,  but  the  place  of  bene- 
ficial use  in  some  other  state,  unless,  under  the  laws  of  such  other  state, 
water  may  be  lawfully  diverted  within  such  state  for  beneficial  use  in 
Oregon. 

296.  The  conference  has  had  framed  a  bill  in  conformity  with  the 
recommendation  herein  made  as  to  the  future  policy  of  California. 


96  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Water  for  Mining. 

297.  From  the  fact  that  the  mining  interests  of  the  state  have  made 
no  representation  to  this  conference  suggesting  the  desirability  of  a 
change  in  the  water  laws  so  far  as  they  affect  that  industry,  it  has  been 
assumed  that  the  existing  laws  are  satisfactory  to  such  interests. 

298.  The  output  of  gold  in  California  is  about  $23,000,000  annually 
and  of  copper  about  $5,000,000.     In  all  methods  of  mining  both  min- 
erals, water  is  used,  and  the  mines  must  cease  running  when  the  water 
supply  fails,  or  if  the  cost  for  water  is  excessive.     Many  mines  are 
operated  only  for  a  few  months  each  year  because  of  inability  to  obtain 
water  during  the  balance  of  the  year. 

299.  Hydraulicking  uses  more  water  in  proportion  to  the  product 
secured  than  any  other  method  of  mining.     Under  national  and  state 
law  hydraulic  mining  may  not  be  so  conducted  in  this  state  as  to  injure 
a  navigable  stream.    Where  its  debris  would  find  its  way  into  the  Sacra- 
mento  or   San  Joaquin  rivers,   or  the  tributaries   of   either,   it  must 
operate  under  permit  of  the  California  Debris  Commission  (a  federal 
body  of  army  engineers)  and  provide  reservoirs  to  hold  back  the  tail- 
ings.   This  method  is  so  expensive  that  very  few  mines  can  be  operated 
under  it,  and  those  which  are  now  doing  so  must  eventually  cease  when 
their  reservoir  capacity  is  exhausted.     There  are  now  seven  mines  so 
operating  under  permit,  three  others  have  licenses  at  present  suspended 
but  which  may  be  restored  on  completion  of  certain  work ;  and  five  have 
been  authorized  to  construct  impounding  barriers  as  a  condition  prece- 
dent to  obtaining  a  license.     The  fifteen  mines,  if  all  working,  will  use 
approximately    18,000   miner's   inches   of   water   or   450   second   feet. 
Practically  all  the  water  so  used  is  afterwards  available  for  irrigation. 

300.  On  the  Klamath  and  Trinity  rivers,  nonnavigable  streams,  and 
in  the  counties  of  Del  Norte,  Humboldt,  Siskij^ou  and  Trinity,  there  is 
unrestricted  hydraulic  mining. 

301.  The  gold  dredges  use  much  water  for  flotation  in  their  moving 
ponds,  and  are  under  federal  and  state  supervision  to  the  extent  that 
they  must  so  operate  as  not  to  discharge  silt  into  the  tributaries  of  the 
navigable  streams  to  the  injury  of  such  streams.     On  the  Yuba  Eiver, 
where  definite  plans  have  been  formulated  for  the  restraint  of  old  min- 
ing debris,  and  where  the  United  States  has  certain  property  interests 
in  the  dredging  grounds,  the  dredges  operate  under  a  permit  from  the 
Secretary  of  War. 


STATE    WATER    PROBLEMS.  97 

302.  While   hydraulic   mining   was   stopped   partly   because   of   its 
injury  to  the  rivers  and  partly  because  of  its  destruction  of  valuable 
farming  lands  owned  by  innocent  parties,  dredge  mining  is  permitted 
so  long  as  it  does  not  injure  the  streams,  because  the  land  which  it 
destroys  is  only  that  owned  by  the  operating  company.     This  destruc- 
tion is  occasioned  by  the  fact  that  the  dredge  reverses  the  order  of 
nature  and,  after  digging  to  a  depth  of  twenty  to  ninety  feet,  deposits 
the  soil  and  sand  at  the  bottom  and  the  cobbles  on  top,  in  huge  piles 
fifteen  to  twenty  feet  above  the  previous  level  of  the  ground. 

303.  Within  the  past  few  months,  a  dredge  has  been  constructed  by  the 
Natomas  Consolidated,  and  is  operating  near  Folsom,  which  deposits 
cobble  and  soil  in  the  order  of  nature.     A  second  dredge  working 
on  the  same  principle,  but  with  improvements,  is  in  course  of  construc- 
tion, and  with  it  the  soil  will  not  only  be  deposited  on  top,  but  the 
ground  will  be  left  approximately  at  the  level  which  existed  before 
dredging.     While  these  new  dredges  are  a  little  more  expensive  in 
construction  and  operation  than  the  old  type,  the  Natomas  Company 
intends  hereafter  to  use  them,   and  it  is  not  improbable  that  other 
dredging  companies  could  be  induced  to  do  so  rather  than  face  the 
steadily  growing  sentiment  against  destruction  of  the  land. 

304.  Water  is  used  for  reduction  of  quartz  by  milling  and  the  cya- 
nide process,  for  placer  mining,  and  for  the  flotation  process,  which  in 
copper  mining  does  away  with  smelting  at  the  mine  and  the  consequent 
destruction  of  surrounding  vegetation. 

305.  It  is  probable  that  mining,  with  certain  exceptions,  will,  when 
the  question  arises,  be  considered  an  inferior  use  for  water  as  compared 
with  irrigation  and  be  compelled  to  yield  to  it  if  it  interferes,  as  navi- 
gation evidently  must.     In  most  mining  this  interference  does  not 
exist  because  the  water  can  be  afterwards  used  for  irrigation.     The 
mining  of  such  useful  metals  as  might  be  necessary  for  the  economic 
welfare  of  the  state  would  not  be  called  upon,  perhaps,  to  yield  prece- 
dence to   irrigation.     This  might  be   true,   at  times,   of  copper,   for 
instance.    While  it  is  probable  that  this  problem  will,  to  a  considerable 
extent,  work  itself  out,  because  the  price  which  mining  can  pay  for 
water  service  is  as  a  rule  much  lower  than  that  justified  for  irrigation, 
it  still  is  desirable  that  the  state  in  the  near  future  should  consider  the 
terms  of  the  problem  and  reach  a  conclusion  thereon. 

306.  This  conference  recommends  that  the  use  of  water  in  connec- 
tion with  mining  be  placed  under  jurisdiction  of  the   State  Water 
Commission. 


7—! 


98  REPORT   OF    CONFERENCE 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Water  for  Municipal  Purposes. 

307.  Fundamentally    the    use    of    water    for    domestic    purposes    is 
superior  to  any  other  use.     Practically  the  fact  that  the  amount  of 
water  required  for  domestic  purposes,  relatively  speaking,  is  limited, 
and  that  the  expense  which  such  use  of  water  can  bear  is  large,  to  a  very 
considerable  extent  removes  the  necessity  of  -any  conflict  with  other 
uses. 

308.  In  view  of  the  limited  water  supply  of  the  state,  the  recogni- 
tion of  these  facts  is  important  as  affording  a  reasonable  basis  for  the 
belief  that,  subject  to  reasonable  limitation,  water  for  domestic  pur- 
poses should  be  taken  from  localities  where  such  diversion  does  not 
conflict  with  other  uses. 

309.  Following  this  idea,  the  conference  believes  that  the  doctrine  of 
"progressive  development,"  under  which  a  municipality  can  appro- 
priate water  in  unlimited  quantities  to  meet  the  anticipated  needs  of  a 
remote  future,  is  unwise.     It  unnecessarily  ties  up  the  water  supply 
of  the  state  and  it  interferes  with  and  embarrasses  all  attempts  at  the 
full  and  prompt  development  of  our  water  resources. 

310.  The  conference  believes  that  the  State  Water  Commission  should 
have  sufficient  discretion  to  make  reasonable  provision  for  future  devel- 
opment and  the  anticipated  needs  of  a  growing  city,  but  that,  as  a 
matter  of  right,  a  city  should  not  be  permitted,  as  it  is  now  permitted 
by  existing  law,  to  tie  up  indefinitely  the  use  of  the  water  of  our 
streams.     Apparently,  at  the  present  time,  by  making  an  application 
for  the  right  to  divert  water  from  any  stream,  a  city  can  acquire  the 
right,  at  any  time  thereafter,  and  in  spite  of  any  use  that  has  been  made 
of  the  waters  of  the  stream  in  the  mean  time,  or  of  any  development 
that  has  taken  place,  when  the  need  arises,  complete  its  diversion  and 
deprive  the  intermediate  claimants  of  the  right  which  they  have  acquired 
to  use  the  water,  and  thereby  destroy  the  improvements  that  they  have 
made.     It  is,  of  course,  plain  that  such  right  would  absolutely  prevent 
the  expenditure  of  any  money  in  utilizing  the  water  which  might  ulti- 
mately be  required  by  such  municipality,  and  thus  compel  this  very 
valuable  resources  to  go  unused  indefinitely. 


STATE    WATER   PROBLEMS.  99 

rilAPTKR  XVI. 

Expense  and  Delay  in  Water  Litigation. 

311.  The  attention  of  the  conference  has  been  called  to  the  great 
loss  of  time,  energy  and  money  which  is  occasioned  by  the  present 
procedure  in  water  litigation  in  this  state,  and  after  careful  considera- 
tion  it   recommends   the   following   methods    as   being   calculated   to 
materially  improve  the  existing  conditions  in  that  regard. 

312.  (a)   It  believes  that  the  findings  of  the  three  permanent  com- 
missions here  recommended,  to  wit :  the  State  Flood  Control  Board,  the 
State  Water  Commission  and  the  State  Irrigation  Board,  should  be 
conclusive  as  to  matters  of  fact  within  their  respective  jurisdictions, 
and  that  the  courts  should  be  required  to  pass  only  upon  legal  points 
involved  in  water  litigation.     The  benefits  to  be  secured  from  this  plan 
are  twofold.     It  will  secure,  first,  the  adjudication  as  to  the  facts  by 
a  permanent  board  of  expert  specialists  remote  from  local  influence  or 
prejudice  and  making  continuous  study  of  the  points  involved  and  with 
all  resources  at  their  command  for  intelligent  and  unprejudiced  investi- 
gation.    It  will  avoid,  next,  the  great  expense  involved  in  trying  issues 
of  fact  before  lower  courts  in  a  number  of  counties. 

313.  (6)  Much  of  the  expense  involved  in  water  litigation  is  due  to 
the  present  procedure  of  allowing  testimony  of  expert  witnesses  on  both 
sides  of  the  case,  with  result  that  these  experts  are  paid,  not  as  inde- 
pendent investigators,  but  as  biased  partisans  of  one  side  or  the  other, 
offering  only  such  testimony  as  will  be  of  service  to  those  who  retain 
them.     In  some  cases  the  greatest  element  of  expense  is  the  amount 
paid  to  engineers  and  experts  for  services  and  expenses.     The  con- 
ference recommends  that  this  procedure  in  water  litigation  be  entirely 
abandoned,  that  expert  witnesses  be  not  permitted  to  testify  as  such  in 
behalf  of  either  side,  and  that,  instead,  wherever  necessary,  an  expert 
shall  be  selected  by  agreement  between  the  parties  to  the  suit,  and  in 
the  event  of  their  failure  to  agree,  then  such  expert  shall  be  appointed  by 
the  court.     Such  expert  shall  represent  the  court,  shall  investigate  the 
points  at  issue  and  report  thereon,  and  each  side  shall  be  at  liberty  to 
cross-examine  such  expert  as  to  the  facts  concerning  which  he  testifies. 
Bills  looking  towards  this  proposed  change  were  before  the  legislatures 
of  1913  and  1915,  but  failed  in  one  case  of  passage,  and  in  the  other  of 
approval. 

314.  (c)  We  recommend  that  a  certain  procedure  adopted  by  the 
legislature  in  1915  with  regard  to  litigation  in  reclamation  cases,  and 
;il  ready  favorably  passed  upon  by  the  State  Supreme  Court,  be  made 
applicable  to  all  cases  having  to  do  with  the  control,  use  or  ownership 


100  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

of  water  in  this  state.  The  action  referred  to  is  indicated  in  an  amend- 
ment to  section  170  of  the  Code  of  Civil  Procedure  by  the  addition  of 
subdivision  5  to  such  section.  The  section  as  thus  amended  provides 
that  any  superior  judge  in  any  case  involving  reclamation,  levee,  or 
drainage  interests  shall  be  automatically  disqualified  on  the  application 
of  either  party  to  the  suit,  and  that  the  Governor  of  the  state  shall 
thereupon  name  a  judge  to  sit  in  the  case  in  the  place  of  the  local  judge 
thus  disqualified.  It  is  the  intent  under  this  amended  section  to  have 
the  Governor  name,  if  practicable,  a  judge  so  located  as  to  environment 
as  to  be  removed  from  all  prejudice  or  probable  influence  in  reclama- 
tion matters,  and  to  have  him  try  all  the  important  reclamation  suits. 
The  result  would  be  a  great  saving  in  the  number  of  suits  and  the 
expense  involved,  since  instead  of  trying  in  a  number  of  different 
counties  the  same  issue  and  receiving  from  the  lower  court  decisions 
more  or  less  different  in  character,  the  issue  involved  would  be  settled, 
so  far  as  the  lower  court  is  concerned,  by  the  decision  of  this  one  judge ; 
and  on  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court,  if  necessary  the  decision  would 
become  final. 

315.  The  application  of  this  principle  to  all  water  litigation  would 
make  unnecessary  the  trial  of  many  cases,  which,  under  the  existing 
conditions,   must  pass   through   the   lower   courts   of   their   respective 
counties;  and  the  trial  of  other  cases  would  be  materially  shortened 
because  points  involved  and  already  decided  by  the  court  in  other  suits 
would  be  passed  upon  without  testimony  or  argument. 

316.  (d)   The   present   procedure   in   this   state   in   connection   with 
exercise  of  the  right  of  eminent  domain  often  permits  dangerous  delay 
and  unnecessary  expense  in  the  completion  of  projects  involving  state 
interest  and  public  safety.     Local  prejudices  are  apt  to  lose  sight  of 
public  benefits,  and  awards  in  condemnation  cases  are  not  infrequently 
prompted  by  such  prejudice  rather  than  based  on  actual  value  of  the 
property.     The  conference  suggests  a  change  in  the  procedure  so  as  to 
conform  more  nearly  to  that  now  followed  in  Arkansas  and  Mississippi, 
and  has  prepared  a  constitutional  amendment  calculated  to  secure  such 
change.     It  is  proposed  to  make  it  possible  for  a  state  agency  to  take 
possession  of  property  needed  for  a  public  purpose  immediately  on 
paying  into  court  the  estimated  value  of  such  property  as  fixed  by  the 
court.     Thereafter  proceedings  are  had  by  the  court,  and  the  value  of 
the   property   determined   after   hearing   of   the   parties   thereto   and 
investigation  by  experts  named  by  the  court  itself.     Based  upon  such 
award  a  final  settlement  is  had,  the  plaintiff  paying  more  into  court  or 
receiving  a  rebate  of  the  amount  already  deposited,  as  the  case  may  be. 
A  similar  plan  was  found  necessary  along  the  Mississippi  River  to 
permit  prompt  action  in  protection  against  floods,  and  it  is  desirable 


STATE    WATER    PROBLEMS       ,...ft     ,.t.     t,  101 

for  that  and  other  reasons  in  California'.  The'  plan  has 'the  merit  of 
preventing  delay  and  conserving  justice,  and  has  been  working  satis- 
factorily in  Arkansas  and  Mississippi  for  a  number  of  years. 

317.  Conflict  l><  hr«  >i  Civil  Code  and  Act.  Prior  to  the  enactment  of 
the  State  Water  Commission  Act  the  provisions  of  law  relative  to  the 
appropriation  and  use  of  water  were  found  in  Title  VIII  of  the  Civil 
Code.  So  far  perhaps  as  the  provisions  in  that  title  declared  the 
substantive  law  relative  to  the  right  to  acquire  water,  it  was  not  in 
conflict  with  the  provisions  of  the  Water  Commission  Act,  but  so  far 
as  it  provides  method  of  procedure,  there  is  a  conflict,  and  the  com- 
mission has  recommended  the  repeal  of  all  of  those  sections  of  the  Civil 
Code  relative  to  water  and  water  rights  which  are  in  conflict  with  the 
provisions  of  the  State  Water  Commission  Act.  This  repeal  is  in  the 
interest  of  simplicity  and  order,  and  also  eliminates  the  danger  of 
increasing  complication  and  conflict  arising  from  attempted  amend- 
ment at  various  sessions  of  the  legislature  of  such  provisions  of  the 
Civil  Code  without  a  careful  investigation  as  to  whether  or  not  such 
provisions  or  such  amendment  conflict  with  the  Water  Commission  Act. 


102  ;   REPORT  OF    CONFERENCE 

r-\  J  *o**'i  pi  ^*'*lin(>*  /v-.;  \,  1° 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

State  Aid  in  Interest  of  Conservation. 

318.  The  state  of  California  is  now  providing,  under  established  poli- 
cies and  in  various  ways,  for  assisting  in  certain  conservation  work  in 
the  prosecution  of  which  she  has  a  direct  interest;  but  there  is  an 
element  in  many,  if  not  in  most,  conservation  projects  having  to  do 
with  the  control  and  use  of  water  that  justifies  state  encouragement. 
Big  irrigation,  reclamation  and  flood  control  projects,  even  big  power 
projects,  are  conserving  great  natural  resources  of  the  state  and,  in 
the  conservation  thereof,  adding  to  the  wealth  of  the  state  and  the 
prosperity  and  happiness  of  the  people.     Whether  it  be  waste  lands 
reclaimed   and   made   to  yield  under   intensive   cultivation ;   or   water 
used  on  thirsty  land  so  that  its  productiveness  is  multiplied  and  the 
crops  insured;  or  rich  farming  lands  and  populous  cities  saved  from 
destructive  floods ;  or  unused  water  power  harnessed  and  made  to  take 
the  place  of  oil  and  coal — there  is  in  each  instance  an  economic  benefit 
of  great  value  secured  by  the  state. 

319.  The  facts  outlined  in  this  report  clearly  indicate  the  measure  of 
the  benefit  to  be  secured  by  early  utilization  of  these  resources,  and 
the  corresponding  loss  which  will  ensue  while  the  state  fails  or  neglects 
to  utilize  them.     Therefore  the  conference  urgently  recommends  the 
immediate  adoption  of  a  state  policy  which,  while  carefully  conserving 
the  interests  of  state  and  people,  will  encourage  and  assist  the  early 
development  of  projects  for  the   conservation  and  use  of  the  water 
resources  of  the  state. 

320.  First   there   should   be   established,   as   elsewhere   suggested,   a 
definite  state  policy  as  to  the  control  and  use  of  these  various  resources 
so  that  permanent  legislation  may  be  based  thereon  and  the  active 
cooperation  of  citizens  of  the  state  secured  in  inaugurating  projects 
which  will  turn  them  to  valuable  use. 

321.  In  addition  the  conference  urges,  as  a  wise  business  policy,  that 
the  state  extend  material  aid  to  deserving  enterprises  of  the  character 
indicated,   by  loaning  the  state   credit,  under   conditions  which  will 
insure  the  state  against  loss,  and  under  restrictions  which  will  safeguard 
the  public  service  and  the  public  safety.    The  adoption  of  such  a  policy 
will  necessitate  the  passage  of  a  constitutional  amendment  permitting 
the  use  of  the  state's  credit  in  the  manner  suggested,  and  a  measure 
of  this  character  is  submitted  with  other  proposed  legislation. 

322.  In  the  case  of  water  power  enterprises,  it  will  perhaps  serve 
if  permits  are  granted  sufficiently  liberal  in  their  nature  to  justify 
the  investment  of  private  capital  with  assurance  that  it  will  not  suiter 


STATE    WATKK    PROBLEMS.  108 

confiscation  or  loss  through  subsequent  state  action  ;  but  also  sufficiently 
restricted  to  prevent  such  enterprises  securing  ownership  or  improper 
control  of  natural  resources,  and  to  allow  the  state  at  any  time  to  take 
over  the  property  for  a  fair  price,  based  on  the  actual  amount  invested 
and  on  physical  valuation  and  disregarding  good  will  and  franchises. 

323.  In  cases  where  storage  is  used  for  combined  interests,  including 
flood  control  and  irrigation,  in  order  to  secure  the  economic  and  efficient 
use  of  the  stream,  it  is  frequently  impractical  for  individual  property 
owners  to  finance  their  portion  of  the  cost.     In  cases  of  this  nature 
where  the  economic  benefits  are  unquestioned  it  would  seem  entirely 
proper  for  the  state  to  loan  its  credit  under  proper  restrictions  and  to 
be  reimbursed  in  the  future  by  the  various  districts  or  other  interests 
benefited,  in  proportion  to  benefits  received. 

324.  In  flood  control  projects  the  damage  averted,  and  in  irrigation 
and  reclamation  projects  the  great  resources  conserved,  add  materially 
to   the   wealth    and   prosperity   of   the   state   and   fully   justify   state 
encouragement. 

There  would  seem,  therefore,  only  the  question  of  how  the  necessary 
state  aid  can  be  given  with  best  results  to  the  projects,  without  loss  to 
the  state  and  with  least  chance  of  injury  to  individuals.  The  conference 
favors  a  plan  under  which  all  projects  seeking  aid  of  this  character 
shall  have  their  plans  approved,  after  careful  investigation  by  a 
competent  state  authority,  and  shall  have  construction  of  works  and 
operation  thereof  supervised  by  similar  authority.  Seasonable  safe- 
guards could  be  provided  thereby  to  secure  economic  efficiency,  safety 
to  the  public,  good  service  at  fair  rates,  and  profit  to  stockholders,  if 
there  be  any.  The  state  should  assure  herself  that  the  plan  is  feasible 
and  economically  practicable;  that  construction  is  properly  done;  that 
maintenance  is  provided  for;  and  that  the  plant  is  operated  without 
injury  to  other  interests  or  to  individuals. 

325.  So  far  as  may  be,  the  internal  affairs  of  reclamation,  irrigation 
and  drainage  districts  should  be  left  to  the  district  organization  under 
state  laws   aiming  at  efficient   administration.     It  would  seem  wise, 
however,  to  confer  power  upon  the  proper  state  authority,  on  request 
of  any  district,  to  undertake  construction  of  works  of  the  district  under 
plans  approved  by  such  authority.     The  policy  recommended  is  prac- 
tically that  permitted  to  the  State  Highway  Commission  in  the  matter 
of  building  roads  for  a  county,  and  in  conformity  with  power  now 
reposed  in  the  State  Reclamation  Board  in  connection  with  the  con- 
struction of  separate  units  of  the  Sacramento  flood  control  project. 

326.  As  to  financing:  The  bonds  of  the  district  issued  under  state 
supervision  should  be  turned  into  the  state  treasury,  and  there  should 
be  issued  in  exchange  therefor  state  bonds  bearing  interest  at  a  rate 
per  annum  lower  by  1  or  2  per  cent  than  the  project  bonds.     This 


104  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

difference  is  intended  to  reimburse  the  state  for  expense  incurred  in 
behalf  of  the  project.  The  state  bonds  would  be  marketed  and  furnish 
capital  for  prosecution  of  the  project. 

327.  In  case  of  irrigation  and  reclamation  projects  the  project  bonds 
should  be  payable  in  twenty  (or  preferably  forty)  annual  installments, 
commencing  after  five  or  more  years;  and  the  interest  prior  to  date  of 
the  first  installment  might  be  paid  out   of  the  bonds,  if  conditions 
justified  such  policy.    Assessments  for  payment  of  principal  and  interest 
should  be  levied  under  state  authority,  and  the  assessments  collected 
by  the  county  tax  collector  the  same  as  county  taxes,  and  paid  into 
the  state  treasury,  thus  automatically  redeeming  the  district  bonds  and 
furnishing  money  for  redemption  of  the  state  bonds.     Tracts  of  land 
should  be  sold  for  nonpayment  of  assessment  as  they  are  sold  for  non- 
payment of  taxes.    This  method  would  insure  to  the  districts  full  return 
for  their  bonds,  whereas  now  they  are  sometimes  sold  at  a  discount  of 
15  to  30  per  cent.    It  would  also  insure  prompt  payment  of  the  bonds, 
while  the  state  supervision  would  assist  in  securing  economic  admin- 
istration of  district  affairs. 

328.  In  the  matter  of  assessment  there  exists  a  serious  obstacle  to 
adoption  of  a  uniform  plan  because  of  the  fact  that  irrigation  assess- 
ments are  levied   ad  valorem   as   are   county   tax  assessments,   while 
reclamation  assessments  are  levied  in  proportion  to  benefits  received 
by  the  respective  parcels  of  land;  and  for  assessment  on  such  a  basis 
county  rolls  furnish  no  data.     This  difficulty  has  been  met  by  the 
suggestion  offered,  in  Chapter  IX — "Reclamation" — in  connection  with 
the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  Drainage  District.     Under  the  plan 
proposed  the  measure  of  benefit  is  fixed,  after  the  completion  of  the 
project,  by  the  difference  between  the  assessed  valuation  of  the  land 
before  commencement  of  the  project  and  the  assessed  valuation  after 
completion  thereof,  subject  to  certain  modifications  and  equalization. 

329.  It  is  manifest,  too,  that  the  restriction,  usual  with  irrigation 
districts,  limiting  the  bond  issue  of  the  district  to  60  per  cent  of  the 
value  of  the  land  in  the  district  plus  the  value  of  the  works  and  water 
rights,  can  not  be  followed  in  reclamation  districts,  since  usually  in 
such  districts  the  land  prior  to  reclamation  has  only  a  nominal  value 
because  there  can  be  no  revenue  from  it,  while  reclamation  will  give 
it  with  certainty  a  high  value.     Reclamation  bonds,  however,  can  be 
made  entirely  safe  under  a  policy  which  insures,  through  state  super- 
vision, adoption  of  a  feasible  plan  of  reclamation  and  prosecution  of 
the  work  to  completion. 

330.  "Where   irrigation   and   reclamation   projects   receive   state   aid 
under  the  plan  suggested,  it  is  the  recommendation  of  the  conference 


STATE   WATER   PROBLEMS.  105 

that  if  practicable,  individual  landowners. in  the  district  be  bound  to 
offer  for  sale  at  a  reasonable  price  for  a  continuous  period,  all  holdings 
in  the  district  in  excess  of  160  acres.  It  is  usually  only  through  subdi- 
vision of  the  land  and  the  settlement  thereon  of  families  that  the  state 
will  secure  the  full  measure  of  return  for  the  aid  it  extends. 

331.  The  plan  suggested  above  under  which  the  state  issues  its  own 
bonds  in  return  for  district  bonds  necessitates  a  constitutional  amend- 
ment which  can  not  be  effective  for  at  least  two  years,  and  possibly 
for  four  years.     As  a  measure  for  temporary  relief  and  in  view  of  the 
importance  of  the  matter,  there  is  recommended,  as  a  means  of  estab- 
lishing the  value  of  district  bonds  meanwhile,  the  following  plan : 

332.  Create  by  legislative  action  a  revolving  fund  of  $500,000  and 
provide   that,   whenever   a   coupon   upon   any  bond   of   an  irrigation, 
drainage,  flood  control  or  reclamation  district  shall  not  be  paid  by  the 
district,  upon  the  presentation  of  such  coupon  to  the  State  Controller, 
lie  shall  pay  the  same  out  of  such  fund  so  long  as  any  money  remains 
in  such  fund.     Such  coupons  shall  only  be  payable  when  the  bond 
shall  have  been  approved  by  the  proper  commission,  and  such  district 
shall  have  agreed  to  subject  itself  to  the  conditions  herein  specified. 
Whenever  such  payment  shall  not  be  returned  to  the  state,  with  interest, 
within  thirty  days  after  demand  by  the  state  and  shall  amount  to 
15  per  cent  of  the  current  interest  due  for  any  one  year,  the  state, 
through  such  agency  as  may  be  designated,  shall  be  given  full  admin- 
istration of  the  affairs  of  such  district  until  the  repayment  of  such 
money. 


333.  While,  under  the  terms  of  the  act  which  created  it,  the  Water 
Problems  Conference  goes  out  of  existence  on  November  30th,  one 
month  before  convening  of  the  legislature,  which  is  to  consider  its 
recommendations,  the  conference  has  requested  its  chairman  pro  tern, 
and  the  members  of  its  legislative  committee  to  furnish  to  the  state 
administration  and  the  legislature  such  additional  information  in  con- 
nection with  the  work  of  the  conference  as  may  be  desired. 

A  copy  of  the  report  will  be  mailed  to  any  address  on  request  to  the 
State  Printer  at  Sacramento,  California. 
Respectfully  submitted. 

STATE  WATER  PROBLEMS  CONFERENCE, 

V.  S.  McCLATCHY,  Chairman  pro  tern. 
W.  H.  KILLAM,  Secretary. 

8—26991 


106  REPORT    OP    CONFERENCE. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

MINORITY  REPORTS. 

1. — ROSCOE  J.  ANDERSON. 

334.  The  main  report  of  the  conference  contains  in  chapter  II  the 
following  language :  ' '  There  is  perhaps  no  single  member  whose  original 
views  on  some  of  these  subjects  have  not  been  modified  or  entirely  altered 
by  his  studies  in  connection  with  the  work  of  the  conference." 

335.  I  would  like  to  add  that  I  doubt  if  there  is  a  single  member  who 
would  not  still  further  modify  his  views  and  who  would  not  disagree  to 
a  considerable  extent  with  the  report  herewith  submitted  if  he  had  the 
necessary  time  to  make  a  more  thorough  study  of  the  questions  con- 
sidered by  the  conference.     The  members  of  the  conference  were  all 
busy  men  of  affairs  and  none  of  them  were  paid  for  attending  to  the 
work  of  the  conference  so  that  what  they  did  had  to  be  sandwiched  in 
between  their  many  other  duties. 

336.  I  feel  that  we  have  not  made  a  sufficient  study  and  investigation 
of  the  questions  at  issue  for  us  to  safely  recommend  such  momentous 
changes.     Many  of  the  conclusions  arrived  at  have  my  hearty  approval 
but  I  can  not  endorse  the  formation  of  two  new  salaried  state  commis- 
sions dealing  with  the  water  question  any  more  readily  than  I  would 
endorse  the   division  of  the  Railroad  Commission  into  various  parts 
whereby  there  would  be  a  commission  for  passenger  rates  and  another 
for  freight  rates  and  still  another  for  gas  companies  and  others  for 
something  else. 

337.  We  have  a  State  Water  Commission  that  is  doing  excellent  work 
considering  its  limited  authority,  and  rather  than  form  a  new  State 
Flood  Control  Board  and  a  State  Irrigation  Board,  I  would  think  that 
the  wise  thing  to  do  would  be  to  enlarge  the  powers  of  the  Water  Com- 
mission,  giving  them  the  authority   to  establish  departments   as  the 
occasions  demand  and  giving  them  sufficient  funds  to  carry  out  this 
work.     In  my  opinion,  the  State  Water  Commission,  together  with  the 
Department  of  Engineering,  will  be  better  able  to  handle  these  water 
problems  than  a  larger  number  of  commissions. 

338.  It  will  be  better  and  more  convenient  by  far  for  the  people  of 
the  state  to  have  only  one  Water  Commission  to  deal  with  than  to  give 
them  so  many  commissions,  thereby  increasing  their  expense  in  organiz- 
ing and  operating  their  districts. 

339.  A  larger  number  of  commissions  makes  confusion  to  the  indi- 
vidual and  to  the  communities,  aspecially  during  the  organization  period 


STATE   WATER   PROBLEMS.  107 

of  new  irrigation  or  other  water  districts.  This  confusion  may,  in  some 
cases,  be  of  sufficient  influence  as  to  retard  important  development. 
Even  today,  under  present  conditions,  it  is  necessary  for  an  irrigation 
district  to  deal  with  the  Water  Commission,  the  State  Engineer,  the 
Bond  Commission,  and  perhaps  the  Reclamation  Board  and  if  he  is  a 
private  appropriator,  with  the  Railroad  Commission.  Add  to  these 
the  federal  agencies  with  which  he  has  to  deal  and  then  add  still 
further  commissions,  as  proposed  by  the  recommendations,  it  can  be 
readily  seen  that  the  private  water  user,  or  the  district,  will  be  delayed 
in  the  prosecution  of  their  plans,  and  delay  is  frequently  costly,  if  not 
fatal. 

340.  Instead  of  recommending  a  further  division  of  authority  necessi- 
tating still  more  legal  difficulties  and  more  complicated  procedure,  I 
recommend  the   gathering  together  of  all  state  authority  of  matters 
pertaining  to  the  private  or  public  use  or  control  of  water  and  placing 
it  in  the  hands  of  a  single  Water  Commission  with  ample  resources  to 
handle  the  problems  confronting  it,  and  I  am  sure  that  such  action 
will  look  better  "from  the  ground  up,"  will  be  more  convenient  for  the 
people  at  large,  although  it  may  not  look  so  well  "from  the  top  down," 
or  be  as  convenient  for  the  officers  in  charge. 

341.  Furthermore,  the  conference  has  gone  on  record  as  theoretically 
favoring  the  "placing  all  matters  having  to  do  with  the  ownership, 
control  and  use  of  water  in  this  state  under  one  commission." 

342.  And  then,   on  the   argument  that   our  problems   are  not  yet 
solved,  it  recommends  the  formation  of  two  new  salaried  state  com- 
missions, with  the  suggestion  that  when  they  have  solved  the  problems, 
it  will  then  be  the  time  to  consolidate.     The  time  when  the  water 
problems  of  California  will  be  solved  will  not  be  seen  by  any  man  now 
living  and,  indeed,  it  will  not  be  seen  for  a  long  time  thereafter. 

343.  Furthermore,  the  time  for  a  consolidation  and  coordination  of 
work  is  when  the  work  is  being  done,  or  before  too  many  departments 
are  created,   and  are   proceeding   at  cross  purposes,  or  at  least  are 
duplicating,  to  some  extent,  work  of  other  departments.     The  placing 
of  new  commissions  on  state  pay,  creates  new  and  powerful  forces  that 
will  tend  to  prevent,  at  any  time  in  the  future,  the  proper  consolidation 
and  coordination  of  the  efforts  towards  handling  the  water  problems  of 
our  state. 

344.  The    conclusions    reached    under    the    following    headings    of 
chapter  II  have  my  approval:  "To  Lessen  the  Riparian  Right  Evil," 
'Superior  Rights  of  Irrigation,"  "Underground  Waters,"  "Water  for 


108  REPORT   OP    CONFERENCE 

Fish  Life, ' '  and  the  aim  but  not  the  details  under  the  headings  entitled, 
"Expense  in  Water  Litigation,"  " State  Aid  for  Conservation." 

345.  Because  of  the  above  opinions  possessed  by  me,  I  am  unable, 
therefore,  to  subscribe  to  the  report  of  the  State  Water  Problems 
Conference,  although  I  am  in  hearty  accord  with  many  of  the  principles 
contained  in  that  report,  but  wherever  it  has  to  deal  with  a  multiplicity 
of  water  boards  and  commissions,  I  must  vigorously  dissent. 

ROSCOE  J.  ANDERSON. 


2.— F.  E.  WOODLEY. 

346.  I  can  not  sign  the  majority  report  because  it  is  to  my  mind  too 
voluminous.     It  goes  into  matters  and  gives  data  that  did  not  come 
before  the  conference.    The  report  as  a  whole  creates  much  unnecessary 
work  for  new  state  salaried  commissions  or  boards,  which  it  also  recom- 
mends the  creation  of.     Some  of  the  chapters  as  written  are  persuasive 
arguments  for  state  financial  aid  in  solution  of  water  problems,  and 
though  not  in  so  many  words,  for  the  proposed  $5,000,000  state  assist- 
ance of  the  Sacramento  reclamation  project  in  cooperation  with  the 
federal  government. 

347.  While  I  am,  to  some  extent,  in  favor  of  proper  state  aid  of 
meritorious  projects  beneficial  to  the  general  development  of  the  state, 
I  can  not  indorse  the  report  of  the  conference  along  this  line.     Recla- 
mation and  flood  control  are  problems  of  interest  to  local  territory  and 
drainage  areas,  and  the  solution  of  such  problems  should  be  worked  out 
and  paid  for  by  the  parties  or  districts  interested.    I  do  not  believe  in 
the  development  of  large  private  interests  at  the  expense  of  the  state. 

348.  I  am  in  favor  of  reclamation  and  flood  control  being  done  by 
districts  comprising  the  drainage  areas  of  streams  as  far  as  practicable, 
such  districts  to  be  administered  by  a  local  board  under  the  supervision 
of  some  state  authority,  having  power  to  accept  or  reject  the  district's 
plans,  and  to  require  said  districts  to  so  formulate  their  plans  that  they 
will  not  interfere  one  with  the  rights  and  needs  of  another;  also  to 
supervise  the  construction  and  maintenance  of  dams,  levees,  etc.,  to  see 
that  they  are  in  no  way  inimical  to  public  safety. 

349.  I  maintain  that  the  Sacramento  reclamation  project  is  local  to 
its  drainage  area  and  should  be  administered  by  a  local  board  under 
state  supervision,  paying  its  own  expenses  the  same  as  every  other  local 
project.     However,  I  do  not  desire  to  interfere  with  the  workings  of 
the  present  district  or  law.     But  I  do  most  emphatically  object  to  a 
reclamation  board  having  in  charge  the  administration  of  the  Sacra- 
mento reclamation  project,  with  salaries  from  the  state  or  otherwise, 


STATE   WATER   PROBLEMS.  109 

supervising  other  districts  of  the  state.  I  claim  that  this  would  not  be 
fair  or  just  to  the  state  or  to  the  other  districts.  Such  board,  respon- 
sible for  this  great  Sacramento  project,  could  not  but  be  prejudiced  in 
its  favor.  The  problems  of  other  districts  would  be  liable  to  have  to 
meet  the  needs  of  this  great  project  to  some  extent,  and  other  districts 
would  be  supervised  with  a  less  degree  of  openness  of  conviction  and 
understanding  of  their  problems  than  if  supervised  by  an  authority  not 
connected  with  the  administration  of  any  district  affairs. 

350.  I  am  opposed  to  the  creation  of  any  more  salaried  state  com- 
missions, and  would  suggest  consolidation  of  water  problems  as  far  as 
possible.     I  firmly  believe  that  the  work  of  the  Irrigation  Board  should 
be  put  under  the  Water  Commission  and  the  supervision  of  flood  control 
and  reclamation  districts  put  under  a  department  of  the  State  Engi- 
neer's office. 

351.  The  chapters  on  Irrigation,  Riparian  Rights,  Storage  for  Flood 
Control,  Water  for  Mining,   Interstate  Waters  and  portions  of  the 
other  chapters  I  am  in  favor  of,  and  I  regret  exceedingly  not  being  able 
to  cooperate  with  the  other  members  of  the  conference  in  the  full 
report,  but  have  the  strong  convictions  as  here  presented,  and  would 
not  be  just  to  myself  or  those  I  represent  if  I  did  not  make  them 
known. 

F.   E.  WOODLEY. 


110  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 


APPENDIX  "A." 

The  Economic  Value  of  Inland  Waterways  to  California. 
(Referred  to  in  Chapter  X  of  the  Report.) 

352.  Inland  waterways  offer  two  great  advantages  for  the  develop- 
ment of  a  country : 

(a)  They  provide  freight  transportation  at  rates  usually  very 
much  lower  than  those  which  are  asked  for  transportation  by  rail, 
and  sometimes  only  a  fraction  of  such  rail  rates. 

(6)  They  offer  a  method  of  transportation  which  can  not  be 
monopolized  or  controlled  by  capital  or  by  great  interests,  and 
which  does  not  necessitate  large  investment  in  roadbed  and  rolling 
stock,  or  their  equivalents.  With  an  open  waterway  any  one  who 
can  buy  a  small  barge  and  a  gasoline  launch  can  declare  his  inde- 
pendence of  railroads,  whether  their  rates  be  exorbitant  or  only 
unavoidably  higher  than  his  business  can  afford. 

353.  In  consequence,  the  mere  presence  of  navigable  waterways,  even 
if  they  be  not  generally  utilized,  is  a  deterrent  factor  which  can  prevent 
the  maintenance  of  unjust  railroad  rates,  and  insure  the  communities 
and  the  state,  therefore,  a  great  financial  benefit. 

354.  The  railroads  of  the  United  States  collect  each  year  from  pro- 
ducer and  consumer,  in  the  shape  of  transportation  charges,  an  amount 
greater  by   $150,000,000   than   the   entire   expenditures  made   for   all 
purposes  by  the  national  government,  by  the  forty-eight  states,  and  by 
every  county  and  every  incorporated  town  and  city  of  over  2,500  popu- 
lation in  those  states.    This  is  a  tax  on  the  people  which  manifests  itself 
inevitably  in  the  price  of  goods  and  the  cost  of  living. 

355.  Any  method  that  will  reduce  the  railroad  transportation  rates 
will  reduce  this  tax  measurably.     Adequate  water  transportation  will 
accomplish  the  purpose,  and  at  the  same  time,  curious  as  it  may  sound, 
will  increase  the  business  of  the  railroads.     The  reason  is  that  ra\\ 
materials,  which  frequently  can  not  stand  the  cost  of  rail  transporta- 
tion, can  be  moved  by  water  at  a  lower  rate.    With  raw  material  thus 
made    available,    manufacturing    enterprises    can   be   built   up    whose 
finished  products  must,  to  a  great  extent,  be  moved  by  rail  to  reach  the 
consumer.    Products  of  the  soil  which  would  not  be  grown  if  dependent 
for  distribution  on  rail  transportation,  may  often  reach  local  and  world 
markets  by  water  at  rates  that  offer  profit.     Inland  water  transporta- 
tion, therefore,  encourages  intensive  cultivation  of  the  soil,  the  estab- 
lishment of  factories  and  the  growth  of  communities,  whose  demands 
for  living,  for  comfort  and  for  pleasure  furnish  steadily  increasing 
business  for  the  railroads  in  freight  and  passenger  transportation. 


STATE    WATER   PROBLEMS.  Ill 

356.  The  argument  most  quoted  against  the  development  of  inland 
waterways   in   the   United   States   is   that   they   are   now   unnecessary 
because  railroad  competition  and  the  interstate  and  state  railroad  com- 
missions force  the  railroads  to  charge  only  reasonable  rates.    Conceding 
that  commissions  and  competition  will  ensure  at  all  times  and  every- 
where  reasonable   railroad   rates,   it   must   be   remembered   that   such 
reasonable  rates,  as  allowed  by  the   railroad  commissions,  are  always. 
and  properly,  based  on  the  expense  to  the  railroad  company  of  render- 
ing  the   service.      This   expense,    even   if   no   allowance   be   made   for 
watered  stock  and  construction  under  exorbitant  contracts  to  favored 
individuals,  is  usually  more  or  less  in  excess  of  the  expense  of  similar 
transportation  service  by  water. 

357.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  policy  of  forcing  all  freight  to 
accept  rail  transportation  (in  a  country  where  water  transportation  is 
practicable),  either  by  abandoning  navigable  waterways  or  by  failing 
to  develop  them,  must  inevitably  result  in  a  great  economic  waste; 
while  the  contrary  policy  would  increase  the  prosperity  of  the  country, 
and  incidentally  add  materially  to  the  business  of  the  railroads. 

What  Waterways  Have  Done  Elsewhere. 

:i:">8.  The  American  public  generally  is  only  beginning  to  grasp  some 
of  these  facts  and  to  realize  the  significance  thereof;  but  the  countries 
of  Europe  and  individual  districts  of  the  United  States  have  for  a 
longer  or  shorter  period  understood  the  value  of  inland  waterways  and 
profited  by  the  knowledge. 

359.  Pittsburg  has  fought  for  many  years  to  secure  and  maintain  a 
satisfactory  degree  of  navigability  from  Pittsburg  to  Cairo  (the  junc- 
tion of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers).    Her  success  has  enabled  her 
to  carry  a  ton  of  coal  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  2,028  miles,  for  eighty 
cents  or  four-tenths  of  a  mill  per  ton  per  mile.     The  railroad  freight 
rate    in    carload    lots    is    $5.30    per    ton.      The    railroad    distance    is 
1,227  miles. 

360.  Before  California  developed  her  oil  fields  she  was  forced  to 
import  coal  in  large  quantities  for  fuel.    Much  of  it  came  from  Rock 
Springs,  Wyoming,  distant  from  San  Francisco  973  miles.     The  rail- 
road freight  rate  is  $5.15  per  ton. 

361.  The  state  of  New  York  is  spending  $125.000,000  in  enlarging 
and  improving  the  Erie  Canal,  notwithstanding  her  efficient   systems 
of  railroads  and  the  fact  that  her  canal  will  be  closed  by  ice  for  some 
months  each  year. 

362.  Canals  connect  the  Great  Lakes  and  give  direct  water  communi- 
cation with  the  sea  and  with  New  York.     In  consequence  freight  can 
be  carried  from  Buffalo  to  Duluth  by  water  for  less  than  four-tenths 


112  REPORT   OF    CONFERENCF 

of  a  mill  per  ton  per  mile,  while  the  return  rate  on  iron  ore  by  boat  is 
about  twice  as  much — in  each  case  only  a  fraction  of  the  rate  for  rail 
service.  Chicago  owes  much  of  her  commercial  greatness  to  her  position 
on  this  inland  waterways  system.  With  the  knowledge  thus  gained, 
she  is  planning  to  secure  direct  water  transportation  to  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  by  necessary  improvement  of  the  Chicago  Drainage  Canal, 
which  connects  with  the  Mississippi  River  through  the  Illinois  River. 

363.  Congress  has  had  under  consideration  for  some  time  the  project 
of  a  coastal  canal  extending  from  Boston  along  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to 
Florida,  and  thence  along  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  Rio  Grande  River, 
giving  connection  on  the  way  with  practically  every  seaport.     This 
canal  is  intended  not  only  for  commercial  purposes,  but  for  national 
defense  in  time  of  necessity.    It  is  projected  in  four  sections :  the  first 
extending  from  Boston  to  Beaufort,  North  Carolina;  the  second  from 
Beaufort  to  Key  West,  Florida ;  the  third  across  Florida,  and  the  fourth 
from  the  St.  George  Sound,  Florida,  to  the  Rio  Grande  River  on  the 
Mexican   border.      The    estimates   of   cost   run   from   $125,000,000   to 
$185,000,000,  based  on  different  conditions. 

364.  Corporations  have  recently  been  organized  to  utilize  the  waters 
of  the  upper  Mississippi  for  freight  transportation,  notwithstanding 
that  a  part  of  the  haul  must  now  be  made  by  rail  because  of  unsatis- 
factory conditions  in  certain  sections  of  the  river  channel. 

365.  In  Europe  the  commercial  life  and  prosperity  of  Holland  and 
Belgium  depend  to  a  great  extent  on  their  canal  systems,  while  France 
and  other  countries  have  carefully  developed  their  waterways  with 
most  satisfactory  results.     Manchester,  England,  was  saved  from  com- 
mercial death  by  an  expensive  canal.    The  experience  of  Europe  is  rich 
with  instances  of  the  sort. 

366.  At  the  very  time  that  the  battle  of  Verdun  was  at  its  height, 
France   held   ceremonies    commemorating   the   " holing"   of   a   tunnel 
4£  miles  long  and  larger  in  cross  section  than  any  other  tunnel  in  the 
world,  part  of  a  canal  system  connecting  Aries  on  the  Rhine  with 
Marseilles.    France  has  had  to  depend  on  her  canals  largely  during  the 
war  and  has  modernized  6,000  canal  boats  for  the  purpose. 

367.  The  most  striking  proof  perhaps  of  the  value  of  inland  water- 
ways is  furnished  by  the  record  of  Germany.    It  is  evident  that,  with  her 
magnificient  system  of  government  owned  and  operated  railroads  she 
would  have  no  use  for  canals,  if  the  stock  argument  as  to  the  uselessness 
of  canals  where  fair  railroad  rates  can  be  assured  had  any  force.     And 
with  her  centralized  power  and  authority,  lending  itself  readily  to 
intelligent  and  efficient  administration,  she  would  not  waste  money  in 
waterways  which  would  make  no  return  for  the  investment.     But  the 


STATE   WATER   PROBLEMS.  113 

fact  is  that,  with  an  investment  of  $2,255,000,000  in  her  railroads, 
Prussia  had  expended,  up  to  1905,  $125,000,000  in  improving  inland 
waterways  and  canalization  •  that  in  that  year  she  appropriated 
$80,000,000  more  for  the  purpose ;  that  in  1907  she  granted  $55,000,000 
for  enlargement  of  the  Kaiser  Wilhelm  Canal  alone;  and  that  continu- 
ously since  then  she  has  followed  the  policy  thus  indicated,  though  the 
details  are  not  available  for  this  report.  And  the  amounts  named,  being 
what  the  Prussian  Government  appropriated,  is  only  a  part  of  the  total 
expended,  for  Prussia  is  only  a  portion  of  the  empire,  while  costs  of  con- 
struction and  maintenance  are  shared  by  states,  communities,  corpora- 
tions and  individuals.  Even  now,  in  the  midst  of  the  greatest  war  the 
world  has  ever  known,  with  her  resources  and  energies  presumably 
taxed  in  defense  of  national  existence,  Germany  yet  finds  her  waterways 
so  important  that  she  is  spending  millions  of  dollars  in  extending  and 
developing  the  system.  Her  canals  have  proved  invaluable  in  war  and 
indispensable  for  commercial  growth  in  peace.  A  number  of  her  cities 
date  their  development  from  the  year  that  navigable  canals  gave  them 
connection  with  the  sea,  and  the  same  is  true  for  great  agricultural 
districts  in  the  hinterland.  The  history  of  the  commercial  growth  of 
these  German  cities  and  districts  is  most  convincing  in  this  regard. 

368.  In  California,  right  at  the  door  of  the  state  capitol,  is  offered 
striking  evidence  of  the  value  of  inland  waterways,  though  the  facts  are 
known  to  but  few,  even  among  those  who  give  intelligent  consideration 
to   state    questions.     Notwithstanding   certain   unfavorable   conditions 
.90  per  cent  of  all  freight  between  San  Francisco  and  Sacramento,  and 
between  San  Francisco  and  Stockton,  is  carried  by  water,  the  average 
rate  being  35  per  cent  less  than  by  rail.    Yet  there  are  five  different 
railroads  between  San  Francisco  and  Sacramento  more  or  less  com- 
petitive, and  all  eager  for  business.     (See  report  of  Flood  Control  Com- 
mittee, House  of  Representatives,  1916 ;  H.  R.  No.  616,  pages  64  and  65 
and  authorities  quoted  there.) 

California's  Present  Waterways. 

369.  On  the  upper  Sacramento  from  points  as  far  north  as  Colusa 
(90  miles  above  Sacramento)  freight  is  shipped  by  boat,  absorbing  cost 
of  moving  by  motor  truck  from  farms  eight  or  ten  miles  on  each  side  of 
the  river,  and  delivered  at  tide  water  for  20  per  cent  less  than  railroad 
rates.     It  is  natural  that  such  points  in  the  Sacramento  Valley  should 
secure  a  lower  rate  to  San  Francisco  than  points  in  the  San  Joaquin 
Valley,  equidistant,  which  have  no  water  communication. 

370.  The  districts  about  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  and  those  traversed 
by  the  navigable  portions  of  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  rivers 
are  thus  entirely  independent  of  railroads  so  far  as  concerns  their 


114  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

interrelations.  No  railroad  strike  could  embarass  freight  transporta- 
tion between  those  districts.  In  fact  it  was  demonstrated  in  the  summer 
of  1916  that  even  a  tie-up  of  the  regular  steamer  service  by  strike  could 
not  seriously  interfere  with  the  moving  of  perishable  river  freight.  For 
nearly  five  weeks  in  June  and  July,  in  the  very  heart  of  the  fruit  ship- 
ping season,  the  steamers  of  the  river  transportation  companies  were  idle 
because  of  strike,  yet  the  perishable  fruit  crop  along  the  Sacramento  and 
San  Joaquin  rivers  was  moved  without  difficulty  to  Sacramento  where  it 
was  transshipped  to  car  for  the  Eastern  market.  This  was  accomplished 
by  means  of  a  few  gasoline  launches  and  their  tow  barges.  The  amount 
of  fruit  thus  handled  reached  as  high  as  22,000  fifty-pound  packages  in 
a  day,  over  500  tons,  largely  pears  and  plums.  Two  times,  or  ten  times, 
the  quantity  could  have  been  moved  on  the  river  without  difficutly,  not- 
withstanding the  entire  stoppage  of  the  regular  lines  of  transportation. 
In  this  one  instance  a  very  great  financial  loss  was  averted. 

371.  The  towns  of  Napa  and  Petaluma  have  water  communication 
with  San  Francisco  by  creek,  river  and  bay  waters,  a  distance  of  50  and 
34  miles,   respectively.     On   Petaluma    Creek   the   commerce   in   1915 
amounted  to  nearly  900,000  tons,  largely  sand  and  gravel.     While  the 
same  rates  are  allowed  by  the  Railroad  Commission  in  this  case  for  all- 
rail  and  for  water,  tramp  schooners  and  boats  carry  for  25  per  cent  and 
30  per  cent  less.     Nearly  all  the  freight  goes  by  water.     It  should  be 
remembered,  too,  that  in  these  cases  as  well  as  in  those  of  Sacramento 
and  Stockton,  rail  rates  would  undoubtedly  be  very  much  higher  than 
they  are  if  there  were  no  water  competition. 

Possible  Future  Development. 

372.  These  districts  of  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  rivers  and 
those  about  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  and  its  estuaries,  are  the  only 
ones  in  the  state  at  the  present  time  which  have  a  practicable  waterways 
system   and  the  conditions  which  permit  its  utilization.     By  channel 
improvement  and  canalization  water  communication  could  be  established 
between  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  and  all  parts  of  the  Sacramento  and 
San  Joaquin  valleys;  and  similar  advantages  for  transportation  con- 
ferred in  this  way  on  the  greater  portion  of  the  state 's  most  productive 
lands.     By  thus  making  it  possible  for  this  great  acreage  to  transfer  its 
products  from  light  draft  craft  to  the  holds  of  ocean  going  steamers  at  a 
low  freight  rate,  there  could  be  created  a  profitable  world  market  for 
such  products.     Without  such  market  it  is  evident  that  only  such  crops 
will  be  grown  as  can  be  profitably  disposed  of,  and  that  the  development 
of  these  great  areas — and  therefore  of  the  state  itself — must  be  materi- 
ally retarded.     In  the  absence  of  the  necessary  investigation  it  can  not 
be  said  now  what  it  would  cost  the  state  to  provide  and  maintain  water- 
ways which  would  make  possible  the  results  referred  to. 


STATE   WATER   PROBLEMS.  115 

373.  It  has  been  suggested  that  so  far  as  concerns  the  great  interior 
valley  of  California  (comprising  the  Sacramento  and  the  San  Joaquin), 
its  crops  under  intensive  cultivation  would  be  so  enormous  as  to  raise 
the  doubt  whether  they  could  be  moved  with  sufficient  promptness  by 
any  railroad  facilities  economically  practicable.     The  rice  crop  alone 
of  eight  counties  along  the  Sacramento  River  has  increased  from  6,000 
sacks  in  191.1  to  2,500,000  sacks  in  1916.     It  is  expected  to  multiply 
several  times  in  the  next  few  years.     Even  this  year's  crop  would  fill 
6,000  cars,  and  as  the  rice  must  be  moved  as  soon  as  harvested  to  avoid 
injury  from  early  rain,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  the  time  will  come  when  it 
will  be  found  difficult  to  secure  sufficient  cars  to  move  the  crop. 

374.  It   is   understood   that   the    report   of   the    State    Engineering 
Department  for  1916,  not  now  available,  will  deal  with  the  subject  of  a 
ship  canal  connecting  Sacramento  with  the  bay  of  San  Francisco.     The 
subject  was  comprehensively  treated  in  an  address  made  before  the 
Sacramento  Chamber  of  Commerce,  February  24,  1916,  by  P.  M.  Norboe, 
assistant  state  engineer,  a  copy  of  which  address  will  be  found  among 
the  documents  submitted  with  this  report.     It  is  proposed  to  utilize  the 
trough  of  a  natural  basin  east  of  and  adjacent  to  the  Sacramento  River, 
where  the  surface  of  the  ground  is  nowhere  more  than  ten  feet  above 
sea  level.     By  dredging  in  this  trough  from  Sacramento  City  for  17 
miles  south,  then  canalizing  Snodgrass  and  Georgiana  sloughs  (navig- 
able waterways) ,  a  canal  of  comparatively  small  cost  and  only  35  miles 
long  could  be  constructed,  giving  Sacramento  City  communication  with 
the  San  Joaquin  River,  about  20  miles  above  Antioch.     There  is  a 
depth  of  31  feet  or  more  in  the  San  Joaquin  from  the  outlet  point  of 
this  proposed  canal  down  to  Antioch,  but  below  that  point,  and  par- 
ticularly from  Pittsburg  Landing  to  Benicia,  the  channel  would  have 
to  be  improved  to  accommodate  vessels  drawing  20  feet  or  more.     If  it 
be  not  feasible  to  improve  this  portion  of  the  present  channel  so  as  to 
accommodate  ships  of  say  26  feet  or  30  feet  draft,  then  it  is  suggested 
that  a  by-pass  channel  be  cut  from  the  head  of  New  York  Channel  to 
Bullshead  Point,  each  terminus  being  in  40  feet  of  water. 

375.  The  suggested  plan  shuts  out  the  waters  of  the  Sacramento 
River,  so  that  there  will  be  no  difficulty  with  debris  deposit,  and  the 
canal  will  be  filled  at  all  times  by  tidal  influence,  without  locks.    It  is 
pointed  out  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  anywhere  conditions  which 
permit  of  the  construction  of  a  canal  of  this  length,   and  with  its 
possibilities  for  commerce  and  other  purposes,  for  the  comparatively 
small  amount  which  would  complete  the  proposed  Sacramento  Ship 
Canal. 

376.  A  valuable  adjunct  to  the  state's  inland  waterway  system  may 
be  found  in  the  borrow  pits  of  the  by-passes  of  the  Sacramento  River 


116  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

flood  control  project.  These  have  been  so  planned  by  the  State  Recla- 
mation Board  that,  with  certain  improvements,  including  locks,  they 
can  be  permanently  maintained  as  navigable  channels.  This  was  done 
primarily  for  the  passage  of  dredges,  which  will  be  constantly  employed 
in  the  upkeep  of  levees,  but  there  was  also  had  in  view  the  future  pos- 
sible demands  of  commerce  in  the  moving  of  crops,  etc.  The  legislature 
has  given  the  board  power  to  force  the  construction  of  draws  in  all 
railroads  and  highway  trestles  crossing  such  borrow  pits.  The  east 
borrow  pit  of  the  Yolo  by-pass,  for  instance,  will  give  communication 
from  tidewater  at  Cache  Slough  to  the  mouth  of  the  Feather  River, 
40  miles  by  the  by-pass,  but  over  65  miles  by  the  river.  Suitable  draws 
have  been  provided  for  in  trestles  constructed  over  this  borrow  pit  by 
the  Oakland,  Antioch  and  Eastern  Railroad,  by  the  Sacramento  and 
Woodland  Railroad,  and  by  the  State  Highway  Commission.  The 
Southern  Pacific  trestle,  constructed  prior  to  the  passage  of  the  act, 
has  no  draw  as  yet. 

377.  The  borrow  pit  of  the  Sutter  by-pass,  with  locks,  would  permit 
the  passage  of  craft  from  the  junction  of  the  Sacramento  and  Feather 
rivers  entirely  through  the  Sutter  Basin  to  its  northern  end,  and  past 
the  Marysville  Buttes  into  Butte  County.     The  Southern  Pacific  has 
a  draw  span  in  its  trestle  crossing  this  borrow  pit. 

378.  A  channel  between  District  1000  and  1001,  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Sacramento  River  below  the  mouth  of  the  Feather,  gives  access  to  the 
drainage  canal  east  of  such  districts  which  communicates  at  its  lower 
end  with  the  American  River. 

379.  While  the  draws  referred  to,  with  the  exception  of  the  bascule 
planned  for  the  State  Highway  causeway,  are  not  of  a  type  to  permit 
of  the  passage  of  commerce  craft,  save  with  great  and  expensive  delay, 
the  conditions  are  such  that  the  necessary  type  of  draws  can  be  installed 
whenever  the  expense  thereof  is  justified.     As  at  present  planned,  access 
to  these  borrow  pits  could  be  had  only  from  the  lower  end  of  each 
by-pass,  but,  if  justified,  a  lock  around  each  weir  would  give  access  from 
the  river  at  the  upper  end  as  well. 

380.  A  further  aid  to  the  use  of  these  borrow  pits  for  navigation  lies 
in  the  recent  ruling  of  the  War  Department,  made  in  June,  1916,  to 
the  effect  that  the  department  has  the  right  to  prevent  the  construction 
of  barriers  to  navigation  in  artificial  channels  as  well  as  in  natural 
waterways,  and  will  order  removal  of  such  obstructions  on  the  proper 
showing  by  interested  parties.    The  ruling  follows  recent  court  decisions, 
and  is  a  reversal  of  the  department's  former  policy. 


STATE    WATER   PROBLEMS.  117 


APPENDIX  "B." 

Proposed  Legislation  Submitted  for  Consideration  in 
Accordance  with  Recommendations  of  the  Report. 

381. 

1.  Bill  to  repeal  sections  1411,  and  1414  to  1422,  inclusive,  of  the 

Civil  Code. 

2.  Bill  to  repeal  section  1410a  of  the  Civil.  Code. 

3.  Bill   to   repeal   an   act   approved   March   3,    1911    (Statutes   1911, 

ch.  104,  p.   271),  prohibiting  the  diversion  of  water  from  this 
state  for  use  in  another  state. 

4.  Bill  to  amend  section  15  of  the  Water  Commission  Act  permitting 

the  diversion  of  water  from  this  state  for  use  in  another  state 
and  granting  reciprocal  rights  on  interstate  streams. 

5.  Bill  providing  for  appropriation  of  underground  water. 

6.  Constitutional  amendment  providing  for  state  guaranty  of  bonds 

of  irrigation,  reclamation  and  drainage  districts   (section  31  of 
Article  IV). 

7.  Constitutional   amendment  enabling  legislature  to  lend  money  or 

credit  of  state  in  aid  of  construction  of  reservoirs  along  streams 
(section  31  of  Article  IV). 

8.  Bill   creating  revolving  fund  for  purchase   of  overdue   bonds  of 

irrigation,    reclamation    and    drainage    districts    (as    temporary 
expedient). 

9.  Bill  providing  for  construction  of  storage  reservoirs  by  state. 

10.  Bill  amending  section  637  of  the  Penal  Code  relating  to  the  pro- 

tection of  fish. 

11.  Bill  relating  to  statute  of  limitations  as  it  affects  a  riparian  owner, 

shortening  time  to  three  months. 

12.  Bill  combining  in  one  action  injunction  and  eminent  domain. 

13.  Bill  amending  section  170  of  the  Code  of  Civil  Procedure  relating 

to  disqualification  of  judicial  officers. 

14.  Constitutional  amendment  re  eminent  domain  in  reclamation  cases 

(section  14  of  Article  I). 

IT).  Repeal  of  section  40  of  Water  Commission  Act,  and  amendment  of 
California  Irrigation  Board  Act  so  as  to  transfer  to  the  latter 
commission  the  power  to  gather  hydrographic  data. 

16.  Bill  requiring  State  Engineering  Department  to  investigate  and 

report  re  storage  sites,  flood  control  and  canalization. 

17.  Bill  giving  State  Flood  Control  Board  jurisdiction  over  all  matters 

of  flood  control,  reclamation  and  drainage,  and  supervision  of 
dams  and  reservoirs  so  as  to  insure  public  safety. 

18.  Bill    changing    method    of   assessment   for   Sacramento    and   San 

Joaquin  Drainage  District. 

19.  Bill  providing  for  expert  witnesses  appointed  by  the  court  in  all 

actions  affecting  the  ownership,  control  or  use  of  water. 


118  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

20.  Bill  amending  Water  Commission  Act  so  as  to  give  commission 

discretionary   power   to    make    reasonable   provision   for   future 
development  for  municipal  purposes. 

21.  Bill  amending  section  20  of  Water  Commission  Act  so  as  to  enable 

state  to  take  possession  of  private  enterprises  at  any  time. 

22.  General  law  providing  for  organization  of  reclamation  districts — 

organization  by  special  legislative  act  to  be  discontinued. 

23.  Bill  adding  new  section  to  Civil  Code,  numbered  530&,  providing 

that  110  injunction  shall  issue  unless  there  is  actual  injury  to  a 
present  use. 

24.  Bill   extending   functions    of   State   Irrigation    Board    to    include 

general  supervision  of  irrigation  districts,  and  granting  salaries 
to  members  of  the  board. 

25.  Bill  amending  Reclamation  Board  Act  in  various  particulars. 


STATE    WATER   PROBLEMS.  119 


APPENDIX  "C." 

List  of  Reports,  Documents  and  Correspondence 
Submitted  with  the  Report. 

382. 

COMMITTEE    REPORTS. 

Transcript  of  Minutes. — Meetings  of  September  18,  1915 ;  October  27, 
28,  1915 ;  November  29,  30,  1915 ;  January  21,  22,  1916 ;  March  23,  24, 
1916;  May  11,  1916;  April  31,  1916;  June  1,  1916;  June  28,  29,  1916; 
November  3,  1916;  November  15,  16,  1916. 

DOCUMENTS. 

(a)   IRRIGATION,  RIPARIAN  RIGHTS,  UNDERGROUND  WATERS. 

1.  Suggested  Program  of  Legislation  Relative  to  California 

Ground  Waters,  Charles  H.  Lee,  minutes  October  27, 
1915. 

2.  State    Policy    as    to    Irrigation,    Frank    Adams,    minutes 

November  29,  1915. 

:i.   Use  of  W^ater  for  Irrigation  After  Power  Development, 
A.  Griffin,  minutes  November  29,  1915. 

4.  Irrigation  District  Law,  A.  L.  Cowell,  June  15,  1916. 

5.  Draft    of   Proposed    Amendment    to    Irrigation    Act,    by 

Chas.  P.  Eells. 

6.  Improving     Credit     of     California     Irrigation    Districts, 

Edw.  N.  Pearson,  May  5,  1916,  April  24,  1916,  April  25, 
1916. 

7.  Riparian  Rights,  Robt.  L.  Hargrove,  minutes  October  27, 

1915. 

8.  Questions  Concerning  Issuance  and  Sale  of  Irrigation  and 

Reclamation   District   Bonds,   Chas.   P.   Eells,   minutes 
October  28,  1915. 

9.  Irrigation  and  Land  Settlement,  El  wood  Mead,  minutes 

November  29,  1915. 

10.  Purposes  of  Irrigation,  D.  C.  McClellan,  minutes  Novem- 

ber 30,  1915. 

11.  State   Control    of   Irrigation   Districts  and  Water  Rates, 

R.  W.  Hawley,  May  31,  1916. 

12.  Adjudicating  Water  Rights,  Max  Enderlein. 

13.  Irrigation  and  Floods,  E.  E.  Keech. 

14.  Duty  of  Water,  Frank  Short. 

15.  Irrigation  Laws,  Frank  Adams. 

16.  Riparian  Rights,  L.  A.  Nares. 

17.  Water  Rights,  etc.,  Engineer  Teilman. 

18.  Assembly  Bill  No.  328,  Hawson  Irrigation  Bill. 

19.  Irrigation  District  Legislation  in  Canada,  H.  W.  Grunsky. 

20.  Duty  of  Water  for  Irrigation,  Robert  L.  Hargrove. 


120  REPORT    OP    CONFERENCE 

(b)  FLOOD  CONTROL,  STORAGE,  RECLAMATION. 

1.  H.  R.  14777  to  provide  for  control  of  the  floods  of  the 

Mississippi  River  and  Sacramento  River. 

2.  Letter  from  Devlin  &  Devlin  (suggestions  in  re  bonds  of 

reclamation  districts). 

3.  Water  Storage  in  California,  Its  Uses,  Value  and  Regula- 

tion, W.  A.  Beard,  minutes  November  30,  1915. 

4.  Flood  Control  and  Storage  Resources,  W.  H.  Jacobs,  min- 

utes October  28,  1915. 

5.  Control  of  Our  Two  Great  Floods,  H.  M.  Chittenden. 

6.  Report  Reclamation  Board  of  California,  1916. 

7.  Supplemental  Report  of  Flood  Control  Committee  on  the 

Sacramento  River,  House  Report  No.  616. 

8.  Flood    Control    and    Reclamation    in    California,    V.    S. 

McClatchy. 

9.  Hearings  before  Rivers  and  Harbors  Committee,  July  23, 

24,  1915. 

10.  Flood  Control,  J.  B.  Lippincott. 

11.  Outline  of  Plans  for  Control  of  Floods,  Mrs.  H.  W.  R. 

Strong,  April  18,  1916. 

12.  Storage,  G.  McM.  Ross,  November  23,  1915. 

13.  Hearings  Before  Flood  Control  Committee  of  the  House 

of  Representatives,  April  5,  1916. 

14.  Flood  Control  of  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  River 

Systems,  Document  71. 

15.  Reports  Board  of  Engineers  on  Flood  Control  to  Board  of 

Supervisors  of  Los  Angeles  County,  July  27,  1915. 

16.  Flood  Control   Projects,   C.   E.   Grunsky,   minutes   Octo- 

ber 27,  1915. 

17.  Discussion    Sacramento    River    Flood    Situation,    A.    E. 

Anderson,  minutes  October  27,  1915. 

18.  Flood  Control  and  Other  Matters,  E.  G.  Hopson,  minutes 

October  27,  1916. 

19.  Flood  Control  in  Southern  California,  M.  V.  Hartranft, 

minutes  October  27,  1915. 

20.  Flood  Control,  H.  F.  Jackson,  minutes  October  27,  1915. 

21.  Adaptability  of  Reservoirs  for  Flood  Purposes  and  Neces- 

sity for  State  Control  of  Reservoirs,  V.  S.  McClatchy, 
minutes  October  28,  1915. 

22.  Flood  Control  and  Storage  Reservoirs,  W.  H.  Jacobs,  min- 

utes October  28,  1915. 

23.  Observations  and  Experiences  in  San  Fernando  Valley, 

Myron  Westover,  minutes  October  28,  1915. 

(c)  WATER  POWER  AND  CONSERVATION. 

1.  Hydroelectric    Development    and    Existing   Laws,   J.    D. 

Galloway,  minutes  October  28,  1915. 

2.  Copy  Senate  Bill  3331,  Adamson-Shields  Bill,  and  Myers- 

Ferris  Bill. 

3.  Water   Power    and   Irrigation,    H.    F.    Jackson,    minutes 

October  28,  1915. 

4.  Conservation,  Francis  Cuttle,  minutes  October  27,  1915. 


STATE    WATER   PROBLEMS.  121 

5.  Necessity  for  Water  Power  Development,  Henry  J.  Pierce. 

6.  Federal    Water    Power    Legislation,    Henry    J.    Pierce, 

May  24,  1916. 

7.  Bulletin  National  Conservation  Association,  June  30,  1916, 

on  Water  Power  Bills. 

8.  A  Study  of  the  Water  Power  Problem,  J.  L.  Rollins. 

9.  Facts  About  Water  Power,  Executive  Committee  of  the 

Water  Power  Development  Association. 
10.  Water  Conservation,  A.  G.  Wishon. 

(d)  INLAND  WATERWAYS,  NAVIGATION. 

1.  Relation  of  Improved  Waterways  to  Foreign  Trade,  S.  A. 

Thompson,  January  29,  1916. 

2.  Waterways  and  Commerce,  Hon.  Wm.  C.  Redfield,  Decem- 

ber 8,  1915. 

3.  Distance  by  Water  to  Points  on  Sacramento  River. 

4.  A  Deep  Water  Ship  Canal  for  Sacramento,  Major  P.  N. 

Norboe,  November  24,  1916. 

5.  Proceedings  Commonwealth  Club  of  San  Francisco. 

6.  Reports  of  National  Waterway  Commission. 

7.  The  Inland  Waterways  Association  and  Its  Work,  Isidor 

Jacobs,  minutes  November  30,  1915. 

8.  Navigation   for   the   Great   Valley   of   California,   H.   D. 

Foote. 

(c)  POLICY,  LITIGATION,  FINANCING,  GENERAL. 

1.  Land  Settlement  Under  State   Control,  F.   E.   Woodley, 

December  18,  1915. 

2.  Possible  Revision  of  Water  Laws,  Samuel  C.  Weil. 

3.  The  Departmental  Plan  in  Public  Works,  C.  E.  Grunsky. 

4.  Discussion  of  paper  of  C.  E.  Grunsky,  J.  D.  Galloway, 

minutes  October  28,  1915. 

5.  Water  Legislation  for  Municipalities,  Albert  Lee  Stephens, 

minutes  October  28,  1915. 

6.  General  Observations  as  to  State  Policy,   A.  L.   Cowell, 

minutes  October  27,  1915. 

7.  Settlement  of  Water  Suits  in  the  Superior  Counts,  Max  W. 

Enderlein,  minutes  October  27,  1915. 

8.  Comments  on  Water  Commission  Law,  J.  D.   Galloway, 

minutes  October  28,  1915. 

9.  Rational  Use  of  Water,  Thomas  H.  Means,  minutes  Octo- 

ber 28,  1915. 

10.  Wise   Water   Conservation   Legislation,   Morris   Knowles, 

minutes  November  29,  1915. 

11.  Appropriation  of  Water  in  California,  A.  E.  Chandler, 

minutes  November  30,  1915. 

12.  Oregon  Water  Laws  and  Interstate  Waters,  John  H.  Lewis. 

13.  Suggestions  for  Points  to  Be  Considered  in  Formulating 

a  Unified  State  Policy,  W.  F.  McClure. 

14.  Diversion  or  Use  of  Water  in  Another  State,  J.  H.  Lewis, 

October  4,  1915. 


122  REPORT    OF    CONFERENCE 

(/)  MISCELLANEOUS  DATA. 

1.  Letter   from   Wm.    Shaughnessy,   City   Engineer   of   San 

Francisco,  September  5,  1916. 

2.  Letter  from  W.  F.  McClure,  State  Engineer,  October  30, 

1915. 

3.  Extract  Engineering  News — Decision  Supreme  Court  in 

Oregon  Water  Case,  June  29,  1916. 

4.  List  of  California  Statutes  on  Irrigation  and  Reclamation. 

5.  Interstate  Water  Rights,  prepared  by  Legislative  Counsel 

Bureau. 

6.  Diversion    of   Waters   of   the    Colorado,    as   Affected   by 

Mexican  Treaties. 

7.  Laws  and  Regulations  Regarding  Use  of  Water  in  Pan- 

American  Countries,  Rome  G.  Brown,  January  8,  1916. 

8.  Arid    Lands    and     Government    Cooperation,     H.     Clay 

Kellogg. 

(g)  MISCELLANEOUS  CORRESPONDENCE  AND  Two  CABINETS. 


INDEX. 


PAGE 
BONDED  DISTRICT— 

(  NVr  "State  Aid"  under  "Irrigation"  and  "Reclamation") 

CANALS— 

(See  Inland  Waterways) 

CASES  INVOLVING   WATER- 
TO  be  tried  by  one  judge.     Sections  42,  314 21,  99,  100 

COLORADO  RIVER— 

Flood  problem  of.     Sections  120-128 43-45 

Storage  of  floods.     Sections  279-281 91 

COMMISSIONS— 

Consolidation  of.     Sections  50-55 23-25 

Flood  Control  Board.     Sections  57-60 25,  26 

Irrigation  Board.     Section  61 26 

Three  state  water.     Sections  25.  26,  50-63,  312 15,  16,  23-27,  99 

Water  Commission.     Sections  62,  63 27 

CONFERENCE,  STATE  WATER  PROBLEMS— 

Act  creating   5,  6 

Committees  of.     Sections  12,  13 9-11 

Expenses  of.     Section  14 11 

Findings  and  recommendations  of.     Sections  24-49 15-22 

Meetings  of.     Section  11 9 

Organization  and  work  of.     Sections  1—14 7-11 

Personnel  of.     Sections  2,  7 7,  8 

Plan  of  work  of.     Section  9 8 

CONSERVATION  OF  WATER  RESOURCES— 

Necessity  and  opportunity  therefor.     Sections  64—69 28,  29 

DAMS— 

State  control  of.     Sections  39,  112-117 20,  41.  42 

DISTRICTS— 

State  aid  for  irrigation  and  reclamation.     Sections  35,  36,  318-332___19,  102-105 

EMINENT  DOMAIN— 

Proposes  change  in  procedure.     Sections  42,  316 21,  100,  101 

EXPERT  WITNESSES— 

Not  to  testify  as  such.     Sections  42,  313 21,  99 

FERTILIZERS— 

Use  and  manufacture  of.     Sections  76-80 30-32 

FISH  LIFE— 

Water  necessary  for,  must  not  be  diverted.     Sections  49,  118 22,  42 

FLOOD  CONTROL— 

Congressional  aid  for.     Sections  45,  145-147 22,  48,  49 

State  Board.     Sections  57-60,  215 25,  26,  70 

Storage  for.     Sections  258-283—  85-92 

FLOOD  FLOW— 

Investigation  of.     Sections  41,  151__  -  20,  21,  50 

INFORMATION- 
HOW  additional  may  bo  obtained.     Section  333 105 

INLAND  WATERWAYS— 

Improvement  of.     Sections  32,  33,  227-233- _  —17,  18,  75,  76 

Investigation  of  canalization  recommended.     Section  33 18 

Suggested  state  ]x>lk-.v.     Sections  221,  235-238,  253.  257 74,  76,  77.  82,  83,  84 

Value  to  California  of.     Sections  222-228,  352-380—  —74,  75,  110-116 

INTERSTATE  WATERS— 

Conditions  and  state  policy.     Sections  44,  284-296 21,  22,  93-95 


124  INDEX. 

PAGE 
IRRIGATION— 

Development  of  in  California.     Sections  173-180 57-59 

Financing  of  districts.     Sections  180-190 59-63 

State  aid  for.     Sections  35,  36,  318-330 19,  102-105 

State  Board.      (See  Commissions.) 

Superior  rights  of.     Sections  31,  239,  240—  17,  78 

LEGISLATION— 

Proposed  water,  to  be  referred  to  commissions.     Sections  27,  50 1C,  25 

Proposed,  submitted  for  consideration.     Section  381 117,  118 

LITIGATION— 

Measures  to  avoid  expense  and  delay  of.     Sections  42,  311-317 21,  99-101 

LOS  ANGELES  RIVER— 

Flood  problem  of.     Sections  129-133,  214 -—45,  40,  70 

Storage  for  floods  of.     Section  278 90 

MEXICO— 

Claims  in  controlling  Colorado  River.     Sections  122-128 43-45 

MINING— 

Inferior  rights  of.      Sections  31,  305 17,  97 

Use  of  water  for.     Sections  297-304 96,  97 

MINORITY  REPORTS— 

R.  ,T.  Anderson.     Section  334 106-108 

F.  E.  Woodley.     Section  346 108,  109 

MUNICIPALITIES— 

"Progressive  development"  policy  opposed.     Sections  43,  307-310 21,  98 

NAVIGATION— 

Injured  by  irrigation.     Sections  31,  241-257 17,  78-84 

Of  Sacramento  River.     Sections  242-251,  254 79-82,  83 

Of  San  Joaquin  River.     Sections  241,  255 78,  79,  83 

Policy  of  War  Department.     Sections  46,  250-252,  256 22,  81,  82,  83 

State  policy  recommended.     Sections  240,  253,  257 78,  82,  83,  84 

NITRATE  PLANTS.     Sections  76-82 30-32 

POWER,  HYDROELECTRIC— 

Federal  control  of.     Sections  84-93 33-35 

State  law  concerning.     Sections  94-95 35,  36 

State  market  for.     Sections  96-107 36-40 

State  promotion  of.     Sections  83,  108,  109 32,  33 

Waste  of.     Sections  29,  70-75 —  17,  29,  80 

RECLAMATION— 

Amended  plan  of  assessment.     Sections  40,  217,  218 20,  71,  72 

State  aid  for  districts.     Sections  35,  30,  220,  324-332 —19,  73,  103-105 

State  board  of,  reorganization  of.     Sections  57—59 _ 25,  26 

State  control  of.     Sections  34,  57-60,  215,  216 18,  19,  25,  26,  70,  71 

State  problems  of.     Sections  201-214—  67-70 

REPORTS— 

List  of,  documents  and  correspondence  submitted.     Section  382—  119-122 

RESERVOIR  SITES— 

(See  Storage.) 

RESOURCES  OF  STATE   (WATER)— 

Plans  for  conservation  of.     Sections  110,  111 40,  41 

Present  condition  of.     Sections  16-19,  64,  65 12-14,  28 

State  aid  for  conservation  of.     Sections  35,  36,  318-330 —19,  102-105 

State  policy  as  to  development  of.     Sections  24,  83 —          15,  32 

RIPARIAN  RIGHTS— 

The  doctrine.     Sections  152-156 51,  52 

The  evil.     Sections  159-164 53,  54 

Remedies  suggested.     Sections  28,  29,  157,  165-172 16,  17,  52,  54-56 


INDEX.  125 

PAGE 
SACRAMENTO  FLOOD  CONTROL  PROJECT— 

Amended  plan  of  assessment.     Sections  217,  218 71,  72 

Availability  of  storage.     Sections  267-274 87-89 

Necessity  for  authorization  for  bonds.     Section  219 72 

Problem  which  project  solves.     Sections  138-148,  211 47-49,  69 

SACRAMENTO  SHIP  CANAL.     Sections  229,  356 75,  76,  111 

SAX  GABRIEL  RIVER— 

Floods  and  flood  protection.     Sections  129-133 45,  46 

SAX  JOAQT'IN  FLOOD  CONTROL— 

Plan  under  way.     Sections  135—137 46 

The  problems  involved.     Sections  212,  275,  277 __69,  70,  89,  90 

SEEPAGE— 

Increase  in  stream  flow  therefrom.     Section  249 80,  81 

STORAGE— 

Cache  Creek.     Section  271 88 

Cjiluveras  River.     Section  276 89,  90 

For  flood  control.     Sections  258-283 85-92 

Interests  opposed  to.     Sections  160,  161,  282 53,  92 

Iron  Canyon.     Section  270 88 

Pine  Flat  project.     Section  277 90 

Sites,  investigation  of.     Sections  41,  110— 20,  21,  40,  41 

Tulare  Lake  project.     Section  277 90 

TAHOE.  LAKE— 

Controversy  as  to  control  of  waters  of.     Sections  48,  286-290 22,  93,  94 

UNDERGROUND  WATERS— 

State  policy  in  regard  thereto.     Sections  37,  193-200 19,  20, 

WATER  COMMISSION,   STATE— 

(See  Commissions.) 


KELEYL1BRARIES 


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